That was then, this is now OR Thank you dad!

Principal ponderings...

Recently, I have had friends or family members come up to me and either ask about is going on with math in schools or more often, I have had them vent to me that they don't like what is going on with math in schools.  Everyone keeps talking about how they just don't get this "new math."  Or they are struggling to help their children with math homework because they do not actually understand the homework themselves.

This made me think back on my experiences with my father and math.  I am realizing now that I think my dad was ahead of the curve.  (Dad, if you are reading this, don't let it get to your head!) I can remember in 2nd grade I really struggled with understanding greater than and less than.  I just could not comprehend it.  So I would ask my dad for help on my homework.  Back then, math homework was always the same.  All of the odd problems on a page the one night and then all of the even problems the next night.  Actually, that was my homework from elementary all the way through high school.  So my dad would start to help me, and he would begin by explaining the concept and then it would turn into why I needed to know this concept in order to understand the next level up, like if I could figure out that 5 was greater than 3, then eventually I would be able to determine that 3+2 was greater than 2+1, and then I would be able to figure out that x + y was greater than 3. Meanwhile, all I heard was wah wah wah wah wah...you know the Charlie Brown teacher?  And I would repeatedly say to my father, or actually yell at him, "I don't need to know why, I just need to know the answer to this problem!"

Now, 30 some years later, here I am, explaining to family and friends that we want our students to know why 5 is greater than 3, not just that the answer is 5 > 3.  My dad was not teaching me "new math" back then.  He did not have a Common Core crystal ball that showed him what the future of math would be.  He understood that in order for me to truly learn these math concepts, to truly understand the purpose behind all of those practice odd and even questions...I needed to be able to explain my thinking.  I needed to be able to make sense of number sense.  I needed to be able to break numbers down and build them up.  But what I was taught, what most of us were taught, was to simply memorize steps and move on.

How did I move up the math ladder?  Well, I was a good student and I memorized individual steps and I aced tests.  And then I moved to the next math class and did that all over again.  I got to my senior year, and I remember being excited that I didn't need to take a math class.  So for my last year of high school...no math for me!  And that meant no more of the same conversation that I had been having with my dad for almost 10 years!  And then I went to college and tested into an advanced Calculus class...not really sure how that happened.  What happened during my freshman year?  I just about flunked out of the class.  Talk about a total shock to my system.  I was a student who got all A's.  I learned what the teachers taught me and then I spit it back on a test no problem.  Suddenly, I had to supposedly apply all of these concepts...even from way back in 2nd grade, greater than and less than...and I had to actually think for myself to solve problems and I had to explain my thinking and I had to actually demonstrate higher level math thinking in a lab once a week.  All of my "hard work" and completed homework assignments and perfect tests scores...well they amounted to nothing in that college course.  I was not prepared for that class.

So my answer to friends and family that ask...no, this is not "new math."  Having kids solve thousands of problems by simply memorizing steps will not allow them to independently think on their own and demonstrate critical thinking skills.  The research shows us that if kids are taught concepts, the why of math, they will retain the information much better.  Clearly, what we were teaching before, how we all learned math, has not worked.  As a country, we have consistently scored well below other countries who have taken a more conceptual approach to teaching math.  This is why the Common Core standards have been put in place.  Why would we keep using a method of teaching that was not effective?  I wish I had had the opportunity to learn math the way our students are learning it now.

And to my father I say, "Sorry dad.  I should have listened to you."  But I get it now, and I can't help but smile when I find myself saying to a student...don't you want to know why this is the answer? (And the voice in my head says...you have become your father!)  I may not have been able to admit it back then, but now I can say it...you were right dad!

Currently reading:
I am almost finished with When Life Gives You OJ.  Thank you to Laurie and Diane for encouraging me to stick with it and not abandon the book.  I am also still working on our admin book chat book, Primal Leadership.  I did just pick up a copy of Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy.  Now that I have made it to the third trimester, it's definitely necessary to be able to laugh about some of the wonderful (or not so wonderful) things that happen during pregnancy.

I also read another good picture book that I purchased from the book fair.  It's called If Kids Ran the World.  In this book, if kids really did run the world, then it would probably be a better place for adults!

Events this week:
Monday - Columbus Day, no school
Tuesday - Curriculum Day 8:00-2:00
Wednesday - Star Lab for 3rd grade, Staff meeting @ 3:30 in the library, School Committee Meeting @ 7:00 at the HS
Thursday - Lockdown drill @ 10:00, ***Literacy Collaboration Meeting at Tyngsborough Elementary School has been postponed until a later date, PTA meeting @ 7:30 in the FloRo cafeteria - Dr. Rodriguez will be the guest speaker

Great things I noticed last week:

• Mrs. Wenz's class was doing lots of writing! 
• Mr. Wiesner was working on pitch with a 3rd grade class. 
  
• Mrs. Harper was working with a group of students as they expanded their vocabulary, learning about nouns.
  
• Dr. Rodriguez came for a visit and enjoyed stopping off in Mrs. Taylor's kindergarten classroom.  She even got a 'Pete the Cat' hat!
  
• Mrs. Hoke's student teacher, Ms. McElroy, spent Friday afternoon playing a math game with 2nd graders to help them learn their doubles strategies.
  

Check it out:
Here's a great video clip of Kate DiCamillo speaking at the 2014 National Book Festival:

I follow this librarian's blogs and he recently posted a list of his favorite books from 2014:

http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2014/10/one-of-my-handouts-from-north-carolina.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WatchConnectRead+%28Watch.+Connect.+Read.%29

Here is how Twitter has had an impact on one teacher's professional growth:
http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/free-professional-development-tweet-all-about-it/
Love this list that an administrator posted-what we should see happening in classrooms!:
http://www.justintarte.com/2014/10/10-things-id-like-to-see-in-every.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FredqU+%28Justin+Tarte+-+Life+of+an+Educator...%29

And after a day that seemed more like summer than fall, I will leave you with this poem that I came across in my readings...

September Tomatoes
by Karia Borowicz

The whiskey stink of rot has settled
in the garden, and a burst of fruit flies rises
when I touch the dying tomato plants.
Still, the claws of tiny yellow blossoms
flail in the air as I pull the vines up by the roots
and toss them in the compost.
It feels cruel. Something in me isn’t ready
to let go of summer so easily. To destroy
what I’ve carefully cultivated all these months.
Those pale flowers might still have time to fruit.
My great-grandmother sang with the girls of her village
as they pulled the flax. Songs so old
and so tied to the season that the very sound
seemed to turn the weather.

A Tale of Two Students

Principal ponderings...

It was the best day of school, it was the worst day of school, it was a time of learning, it was a time of struggle, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, one student had all sorts of opportunities in front of him, and one student had nothing positive to look forward to.  This is the tale of a typical school day for two very different students.
One student started his day when his mom woke him up and had breakfast waiting for him at the kitchen table.  She reminded him that he had soccer practice after school and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead as he walked out the front door, down the driveway and hopped onto the school bus. His good friend was already on the bus and had saved him a seat.
Another student started his day by getting himself up, throwing on a shirt that was wadded up on the floor.  His mom, who worked second shift, was still asleep.  He found one pop tart and took a bite while he watched TV by himself.  When the bus honked, he ran out the door, forgetting to grab the rest of the pop tart, and the field trip form he was supposed to get signed.  The only seat left was with a student from a younger grade who he did not know.  While he was looking to see if there were any other seats, the bus driver yelled at him to hurry and find a seat.
After a fun bus ride with his best friend, the first student arrived at school in a good mood.  As he walked to his class, several teachers looked him in the eye and said good morning to him.  His teacher was waiting for him at the door, smiling and welcoming him into the classroom.  She even remembered to ask him how his soccer tournament went over the weekend.
After a tough bus ride with a younger student who kept annoying him so much that he finally yelled "leave me alone" and the bus driver reprimanded him, the second student arrived at school hungry and in a bad mood.  He bumped into a couple students as he walked down the hall and a teacher stopped him and made him apologize, even though he did not do it on purpose.  When he finally got to the classroom, his teacher was talking to another student.  The other students were either unpacking their things or visiting with each other.  No one even noticed him or acknowledged him as he made his way to his seat.
During writing, the first student was excited that he had his soccer tournament from the weekend to write about.  It was his first tournament, and he had lots of good details to add to his story.  Because he had so much to say in his writing, his teacher even asked him to share some of his story with the rest of the class at the end of writer's workshop.  He got to sit in the author's chair and everyone was eager to hear what he had written.  Several students complimented him on his descriptions.
During his writing class, the second student sat and listened to his stomach growl.  He wished he had eaten more of his pop tart that morning.  His mom had worked extra shifts during the weekend, and she was too tired to do anything with him.  So he spent his weekend watching TV.  That was not a very exciting topic to write about.  He stared at a blank page until his teacher came up behind him and startled him when she told him to get something on the paper.  He wrote the words 'this weekend' and then retraced them several times with his pencil.  When it was time to share, he still had a mostly blank page so he did not get selected to share his story with the rest of the class.  He never got to share.  It's not like anyone cares about what he has to say anyway.

You could probably write the rest of the tale of these two students.  Same grade, same school day, but clearly very different experiences.  I was thinking about the quote that I shared with you at the beginning of the school year:

“Students learn better when they are challenged, have choice, feel significant, 

receive feedback and know they matter.” @sjunkins

In particular, I was focusing on the part about students feeling significant and knowing they matter. How we respond to students, how we interact with them each day, how we see them (or don't see them) has a major impact on their learning.  Would you be worried about the first student's learning? Or would you be worried about the second student's learning?  How many kids have a day everyday like the second student?  How do we make sure that we truly see all of our students each day? Because if one student thinks they do not matter to us...then learning most certainly will not happen.  

What will you do today to make sure that all of your students feel significant and know that they matter to you?

Currently reading:
This past week I listened to the book Still Alice during my drive to and from school.  This was a poignant book that certainly brought me to tears a few times.  (Of course, the whole pregnancy hormone thing makes me cry as well!)  It's the story of a woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  While it is a tough book to read or listen to, I definitely recommend it.

After visiting the Scholastic Book Fair last week, I now have some new titles to add to my reading list.  I enjoyed reading a great new picture book by Brian Lies: Bats in the Band.

I'm also excited to read one of Cynthia Lord's new books, Shelter Pet Squad: Jellybean.  Seems like this will a good new series for our 2nd and 3rd graders.

I'm still reading When Life Gives You O.J.  Having a little trouble getting into this book, but I'm not ready to abandon it just yet.  And I reread Each Kindness the other day.  This is our book that the entire school will be reading.  Please make sure to read it and/or read it to your students.  We will begin with some book-related activities in a few weeks.

Events this week:
Monday - Latin Class @ 3:30
Tuesday - Dr. Rodriguez visits the school in the am, 3 4th grade classes on field trip to Mt. Wachusett, Spanish Class at 3:15, Latin Class @ 3:30, School Council meeting @ 3:30
Wednesday - School Picture Day!, 1st grade library field trip in the pm, Liz out of the building at MCAS-Alt training
Thursday - 2 4th grade classes on field trip to Mt. Wachusett, 1st grade library field trip in the pm, Spanish Class @ 3:15
Friday - Para meeting at 9:00 in the staff room

Great things I noticed last week:

• Teachers looking at our Tell Mass results and brainstorming ways to improve as we move forward.
  
• Teachers talking about ideas they have for activities related to the book Each Kindness.  Can't wait to see everyone's ideas come to life as part of 'One School, One Book!'
  
• Indoor recess means I get lots of great letters from students!
  
• Mrs. Guernsey's class did some experiential learning with the 3 Sisters' Garden in the front of the building.
  
• Mr. Crowley was conferring with several different students during Reader's Workshop.  He made sure to meet them wherever they had chosen to read and documented the conference using an online form.
  

Check it out:
October 6 marks the start of the Global Read Aloud project which goes until November 14.  I'm still waiting on the Peter Reynolds author study books to come in, as well as The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  Check out the main site for ideas: http://www.globalreadaloud.com/
Also, if you are on twitter, be sure and use #GRA14 to connect with others participating in the global read aloud!

Looking for a twitter chat to listen in on or try out your tweeting skills?  On Monday nights there is a regular twitter chat called #tlap.  It was inspired by the Teach Like a Pirate book.  Join other passionate teachers who want to improve their professional practice at 9:00 Monday night.  Even if you can't stay up for the chat, you can always look up the hashtag and read what people have been talking about!

Even though this article is a little long, it's an interesting look at what interactive writing can look like for our 2nd through 4th graders, especially how it can be an effective way to meet the Common Core literacy standards:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/trtr.1270/asset/trtr1270.pdf?v=1&t=i0x8nj9i&s=1061ef0d73004c7b279443f5dff94850a3736c43

Cupcakes and Collaboration

Principal Ponderings...

Everyone needs an activity that relaxes them and makes them happy.  For me, that activity is baking. Actually baking cupcakes to be exact.  After a packed weekend up in Maine at a wedding, I decided to pull out my mixer and bake.  As I was measuring and mixing the ingredients, I started to get some inspiration for my blog post.  I was thinking about how it always amazes me that when you combine just the right ingredients, you end up with something that is not only completely transformed, but delicious!

And this led me to think about collaboration.  Collaborating is a lot like baking cupcakes.  As educators, we are the ingredients.  Whether you are flour or sugar or eggs, when you work in isolation, you can't be more than just who you are.  And so your students get one level of teaching.  But when we collaborate, when we mix together, a little bit of flour, sugar and eggs...then we can transform our teaching and take it to another level.  After spending some time with many of our grade level teams this week, I enjoyed watching teachers observe each other and then listened to them share ideas with each other and plan on how they would implement what they had learned from peers into their classrooms.

Of course, baking cupcakes is not always easy, and neither is collaboration.  You have to get the right combination of ingredients.  And you have to have the correct ingredients to start!  I had made my cupcakes and was about to start making the frosting when I realized I did not have enough of one ingredient for my frosting.  So I had to trek out to the grocery store...the last thing I wanted to do on a Sunday night.  Collaboration, like baking, takes work.  Sometimes, you have to figure out how to work with each other.  Sometimes you figure out how you want to work together, and then the end result is not what you expected or wanted.  Sometimes you have to try different ways to collaborate and that takes time.  We just need to remember that the process may be difficult, but the end result, student learning that is a product of teacher collaboration, is well worth it.

Speaking of collaboration...I have been meeting with Scott Middlemiss from Tyngsborough and David Hill from Dracut.  We have been planning for a year of literacy collaboration.  We are three districts that are working with TLA and focusing on our reading and writing instruction.  Since we are geographically fairly close, we thought it would be great to start up a collaboration between our three districts.  We would like to create and develop an inter-district network to continue and enhance the learning and professional development taking place in our separate schools.  We have discussed ways to allow teachers to network and collaborate on what they have learned as a result of working with TLA.  We would like to meet as a group at least once month after school, alternating between locations, discussing literacy instruction and best practices.  Ideally, teacher partnerships will develop as a result of these informal meetings.

Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 16 at 3:30.  The first literacy collaboration meeting will take place at Tyngsborough Elementary School.  Mark it on your calendar and let's get excited about collaboration!  If anyone wants to carpool with me, let me know.

Currently reading:

I finished reading Little Book, Lost this weekend.  This is such a great book!  It's one of the MCBA books, but it would make for a good read aloud for our younger students as well.  Sticking with the dog theme, I immediately picked up When Life Gives You OJ.  This is another book on the MCBA list, and it is about a child that wants a dog.

I also read a cute picture book called Dear Tabby.  In the book, all sorts of critters write letters to Tabby and she gives them advice.  The whole book is written as a serious of letters that the animals write to each other.  

Events this week:

Monday - The Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place all week next door at the middle school.  Be sure and check it out! After school Latin class from 3:30 to 4:30
Tuesday - After school Latin class from 3:30 to 4:30
Wednesday - 4th grade extra chorus practice @2:25 in the gym, Staff meeting @ 3:30 in the library
Thursday - PTA Evening Book Fair Event

Great things I noticed last week:

• 1st-4th grade level teams had a chance to observe Reader's Workshop in lab teachers' classrooms and then debrief with Joia.
  
• We had our first bus open circle meeting!  Teachers, bus drivers and students talked about what was going well on the buses and reviewed expectations.
  
  
  
  
• Mrs. Cragg was doing a nonverbal imitation game to keep her students calm and quiet while waiting for everyone to finish at the bathroom.
  
• Our 'One School, One Book' books arrived!  Get ready to talk at our staff meeting about all the activities we will do with Each Kindness.
  
• Mrs. Fulreader led a training for our parent volunteers who will be helping out on the playground and in the cafeteria.  We had parents playing switch and four square and enjoying some hot chocolate and baked goods!
  

Check it out:
Interesting blog post about leveling your classroom library: http://www.teachertriathlete.com/2014/09/classroom-libraries-to-level-or-not-to.html

Love this twitter post I came across...Reading is...

#Reading is bliss... via @amightygirl #satchat #WeLeadEd #atplc #teachers pic.twitter.com/LgczxAqKpR
— Rosa Isiah (@RosaIsiah) September 20, 2014

Let's Talk about PARCC

Principal ponderings...

Several of you had a chance to come to one of the sessions last week where you got to try out some of the PARCC practice tests.  I plan on using some of my blog posts over the next few months to gather PARCC information in one spot for you.  This is a big change, and I want make sure that we are taking time to talk about it, read about it, figure out together what this means for our instructional practice.

Here are some of the facts about PARCC and the timelines:

• In grades 3-8 across the state of MA, 40% of the schools will still be doing MCAS this year.  60% will be switching to the PARCC
• High school students will continue to take the MCAS this year.  The Science MCAS will also still be administered.
• PARCC stands for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
• The following are the states that are part of PARCC: Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.
• PARCC is a computer-based test, although during the beginning stages some districts will be doing a paper-and-pencil version.  We are using the computer-based test.
• PARCC will assess writing at all levels, unlike MCAS which only assesses writing at grade 4, 7 and 10.  With PARCC, students will be writing in response to reading or writing to a source.
• After the completion of the two year pilot of PARCC, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote in the fall of 2015 on whether PARCC will be fully implemented.
• There are 2 summative assessment components: Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) and End-of-Year Assessment (EOY).
• PARCC was designed to assess whether students were on track for college and career and has been aligned to the Common Core Standards.

PARCC will assess key shifts in mathematics standards:

Test administration window for Performance-Based Assessments for schools doing computer-based testing (both English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics) - March 16 - April 10

Test administration window for End-of-Year Assessments for schools doing computer-based testing (both English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics) - May 4-May 29

Monday night on Twitter PARCC will begin hosting "office hours".  Here's a good place to see what questions educators have, ask questions and share resources...

#PARCC's Sept office hours on Twitter: 9/22, 5-6 pm (ET) Use #askPARCC - ask us q's, share resources w/ea other http://t.co/3JS55pJe9A
— PARCC (@PARCCPlace) September 20, 2014

 Here is a quick 6 minute video clip that was created last year and tells you a little bit about the design process and reasoning behind PARCC:

Here is a link to a frequently asked questions page: http://parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCFAQ_9-18-2013.pdf

Here is a link for the resources for educators page on the PARCC website: http://parcconline.org/for-educators

Currently reading:

I was very excited to get an autographed copy of The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm in the mail last week!  I won it just by commenting on a blog post.  There are lots of people that run contests on their blogs and give away free books.  I am always entering, but this was the first time I actually won!  This is one of the books that is part of the Global Read Aloud this year.  It was a quick read that incorporated science into the plot and explores the idea of creating a way to never grow old. I just started reading Little Dog, Lost which is one of the books on the MCBA list.  It's a book written in free verse form.

And since I am a member of ASCD, I just got a new professional book in the mail that I will be checking out.  It's called Sparking Student Creativity:Practical Ways to Promote Innovative Thinking and Problem Solving.

Events this week:
Monday - SAFE House and the Groton Fire Department will be here all week.
Tuesday - Trimester 1 Bus Meeting at 9:20
Wednesday -
Thursday - Bus evacuation drill in the morning, Informal curriculum chat with Dr. Novak @ 3:15 in the library
Friday - Book Fair Preview for the teachers (11:30-1:30), Scholastic Rep with be there along with snacks!  If you can't go over during that time, Joelle can be there either before or after, just let Liz know.  Remember that you get to select $20 worth of books!
**On Friday, during 3rd and 4th grade lunch, the Harlem Wizards will be in the cafeteria to talk to the students while they eat.
Saturday - The Joseph Middlemiss Superhero Rock n' Roll Run @ 10:00, Harlem Wizards game at the high school @ 6:30

Great things I noticed last week:

• We had a successful first fire drill on Friday.  Everyone got out of the building quickly and quietly, and I don't think I saw any tears or meltdowns!
• Grace shared some interesting MCAS data with the staff and discussed how our ELA student growth and achievement looked.
  
• Mrs. Fournier's students showed me what kind of class they are: Awesome!  I did a book chat with them right before they started to have a discussion about creating a buzz around books.
  
• We tried out a new format for staff meetings where staff had a chance to select two different sessions to go to during the afternoon.  Teachers gave lots of positive feedback about this new format!

Check it out:
An interesting read about how teachers can help students find the beauty in math:

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/10/imagery-a-key-to-understanding-math/
Great reminder about how we can be proactive with our communication with parents:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/power-positive-phone-call-home-elena-aguilar

Forget great, let's go for grit!

Principal ponderings...

We all want to be great educators.  We want to teach great lessons.  We want our kids to be great students.  We want our school to be known as a great school.  But I am thinking that what we really need to do is replace some vowels; we need to replace great with grit.  What does grit mean?  Well when you look it up in the dictionary it says "courage and resolve."  I personally like many of the synonyms that are associated with grit: determination, perseverance, endurance, tenacity, and my favorite, spunk.

Check out this video called: Teaching Grit Cultivates Resilience and Perseverance

And here is a 6 minute Ted Talk of Angela Lee Duckworth discussing the key to success...grit!

So we have the difficult task of teaching our students to be gritty.  But I think that before we can teach our students to be gritty, we need to learn how to be gritty educators ourselves.  As Angela says, this process of being gritty is not a sprint, it's a marathon.  It's not about spending three days in a row planning the ultimate unit or being a superstar teacher for one lesson on one day.  We have to be setting goals that we are going to stick with for the long run, for the month, for the trimester, for the year.  There are no get grit quick plans.  Things will not go as planned.  Lessons may not work like we envisioned.  But if we are going to be successful as educators, we need to stick with it.  We need to persevere in order to teach our students perseverance.  Go ahead...set some gritty goals for yourself.  How will you show tenacity?  Remember, it might mean that you need to be ok with something not working the way you planned.  It might mean that you need to scrap your original plan and try something different.  It might mean stepping out of your comfort zone.  Because becoming a gritty educator means being unsuccessful this week knowing that in the long run you will be successful.  

Here's a quick interview with the author Kate DiCamillo where she talks about how she learned to persevere:

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/award-winning-author-shares-personal-struggle-write-n142251

Ask yourself...is this the thing that I am supposed to do?  If teaching is what you are supposed to do, then you cannot give up.  Don't worry about being great this week; go be gritty this week.

Currently reading:
I finished reading Bigger Than a Bread Box this weekend.  I think it might be a book that some of our 4th graders would enjoy reading.  Even though the main character is 12 years old, what she experiences as her parents go through a separation is something that several kids can relate to.  I started reading on of the new MCBA books, The Friendship Matchmaker.  So far it's a quick read and a good lesson on making friends by just being yourself.

I have also been reading more of Primal Leadership.  A quote that stuck with me from the chapter I just read: "...institutions that endure thrive not because of one leader's charisma, but because they cultivate leadership throughout the system."  I did some more reading of Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess.  I had read some if it last year, but realized I needed to pick it back up and finish it.

Events this week:

Tuesday - Announced fire drill @ 10:15

Wednesday - 4th grade instrument demo in the PAC @ 10:00, Staff meeting @ 3:30

Thursday - Bus driver training in the cafeteria @ 9:15, Elementary only half day, 1:15-3:30

Great things I noticed last week:

• Ms. Hoke's class talked about choosing 'just right' books.

• A second grader enjoying some quality, comfy independent reading time!
  
• Curriculum Night was a huge success!  Teachers did a great job educating parents about what curriculum looks like at each grade level.
  
• 1st graders in Mrs. Wilkin's class playing plus or minus 1 Bingo!
  
• Family Fun Night was tons of fun!!
  

Check it out:

Read this short post about keeping the kindergarten spirit: http://technicallyteamann.com/how-can-we-all-keep-the-kindergarten-spirit/
A great post about looking for the small wins in the beginning of the school year: http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/2014/09/september-dont-worry-teaching-gets-better.html

Time Keeps on Ticking...into the Future

Principal ponderings...

My Sunday morning left me thinking about the passage of time and how that relates to our job as educators.  My day started much earlier than I would have liked, but my sister was in the hospital with her new baby, Lily, and no one was around and she wanted to fill me in on my niece's first 24 hours of life.  After that conversation, I went for an early morning swim.  Of course, on a Sunday morning, the average age in the pool is about 79.  As I eased into my lane, there was an elderly man in the lane next to me, probably 84 years old, looking slightly grumpy.  He said to me, "Don't worry.  I won't get in your way."  I laughed and said, "I'm not worried."  Then he said, "It must be nice to be young."  I didn't really have a good response for him so I started to swim.

As I was swimming, I  thought about the old man's comment of it being nice to be young.  I thought about my brand new niece who was not even 48 hours old.  I was thinking about how quickly she will become a one year old. I thought about our first graders who will turn into high school students before we know it.  I thought about our 4th graders who will become us in a blink of an eye.  Yes, it is nice to be young, but unfortunately, it goes by too fast.  As everyone has been turning in their schedules, I can't help but think about how quickly time passes, making it even more important to remember that we need to make every moment count.  We have the difficult task of educating our students while only having them with us for a very short time.  You might remember this quote from the beginning of last year:

So I will remind everyone to make every moment matter for your students.  Make sure that what you have planned during your different blocks of time is something that is purposeful and meaningful for your students.  Don't let time pass too quickly for your students with meaningless activities or pointless time fillers.  Time already goes too fast, let's not make it go faster.  Every second matters, so make sure you make those seconds count for your students.  We don't have them for very long, soon they will be moving onto the next grade, graduating, starting a career, and eventually standing in the shallow end at the Y, doing underwater leg lifts.

Of course, I also thought about the old man's first comment to me: "Don't worry.  I won't get in your way."  As educators, we need to make sure we don't get in our students' ways.  At our first meeting this year, I shared a quote that I will be referring to a lot this year: 

“Students learn better when they are challenged, have choice, feel significant, receive feedback and know they matter.” @sjunkins

Not getting in the way of students seems to go along with the first part of the quote.  We need to make sure all of our students are challenged.  And that might mean that we need to step out of the role of leading our students and let them lead us through the learning process.  If we aren't challenging our students, then we are impeding their learning.

After my swim, I headed to Wegman's to do some shopping.  Well, to be honest, all that thinking about time passing made me think about the jellybean video clip I shared with you.  And Wegman's has jellybeans in bulk!  Here's the clip again in case you needed some motivation for today:

Currently reading:
This week I started reading Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder.  Interesting book about a young girl who discovers a magical bread box that grants her wishes.  She is struggling with her parents' separation and living with her grandma.  I am also listening to a new book on tape: David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell.  It's about underdogs, misfits and the art of battling giants.  The author does a good job of challenging our thinking in regards to obstacles and disadvantages.  I also read another book in the Gooney Bird Greene series: Gooney Bird is So Absurd.  I sent a question to the author through goodreads.com and here is her response to me:

Liz Garden asked Lois Lowry:

What was your inspiration for creating the character of Gooney Bird Greene? Love the books and plan on encouraging my teachers to use them during writer's workshop, also good for our character development unit of study in reader's workshop!

Lois Lowry My own childhood memories inspired the GBG books. As a shy child I so envied those classmates who were self-confident and popular

Events this week:
Monday - International Literacy Day!

In 1965, UNESCO declared September 8 International Literacy Day (ILD) in an effort to focus attention on worldwide literacy needs.

"Lift Off to Literacy," IRA's theme for 2014, inspires students to reach for the stars. On September 8, 2014, launch your students' literacy habit by devoting an additional 60 seconds of literacy activities each day for 60 days. Celebrate ILD and share the message that developing a habit of reading, writing, listening, and speaking leads to lifelong literacy success.

http://www.reading.org/international-literacy-day-2014/printables

Tuesday - Dr. Rodriguez will be visiting FloRo in the morning, Liz will meeting in Tyngsborough at 3:30 w/Scott Middlemiss & David Hill to plan for literacy collaboration, Room Parent Mtg @ 7:30
Thursday - Curriculum Night: 6-7 grades 3-4, 7-8 grades K-2 
Friday - iPass bio-verification forms due back, Dianna and Liz at SLT meeting at Prescott from 8-11, Welcome Back Party from 4:00-6:00

Great Things I Noticed Last Week:

• Mrs. Lanctot's class was learning about their classroom community and having their first open circle.  Her class even made their own lego creation to represent their community!
  
• 2nd graders in Mrs. McEvoy's class were modeling for each other how to 'turn and talk' as part of their reader's workshop launch.
  
• Mrs. Benkley's 2nd graders spent some time deciding where they wanted to do their independent reading time in the classroom.
  
• Mrs. Cahill's bulletin board reminds us that it's ok to make mistakes...embrace failure...remember it's what helps us learn!
  

Check it out:
Donalyn Miller's recent blog about no more language arts and crafts:
http://bookwhisperer.com/2014/09/07/language-arts-and-crafts/
Ways to create a classroom of writers:
http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/writingidentity/
How to learn?  From mistakes...video clip:

And here's a funny song re-write by a teacher, good for the beginning of the year...