To Tweet or Not to Tweet...

Principal ponderings...
On Friday, I spent that day at the MESPA Fall Conference.  I am a member of this organization for elementary principals.  The theme of the conference was 'principals supporting principals', and I was lucky enough to be selected to present.  My topic was about how to avoid administrator island.  It's easy to feel like you are stuck on an island when you are in the principal role.  I actually spent most of my presentation talking about this blog and how it has helped me form connections beyond my school walls.  I also spent time helping other administrators figure out Twitter and how they could use it to learn from and connect with principals across the country and the globe.

So I figured it's probably time for me to do one of my Twitter posts for all of you.  I discovered this video clip from a principal I follow on Twitter.  I included it in my presentation because I think the message supports what happens on Twitter every day.  We go about our business each day, teaching our students, planning lessons, discussing education with our peers.  And we might think that what we are doing is nothing special.  Watch this clip and think about this: what is obvious to us, might be amazing to someone else.

That video clip sums up my thoughts for why educators should utilize Twitter.  Everyday teachers are doing amazing things in classrooms, but they might not think what they are doing is so amazing.  However, someone else might be so psyched to learn from you.  If you are not on Twitter yet, I encourage you to create an account and start learning amazing things from everyday educators around the country.  Here is another clip that demonstrates the value of Twitter for educators...

And once you have your account and spend some time reading what other educators are doing, then it will be time for you to start tweeting about what you are doing in your classroom.  Here is an infographic to get you started:

Check out this extensive list for ideas of different chats to join in on.

And in the true spirit of elementary school, here's a Dr. Seuss inspired guide to twitter:

If you haven't checked out Twitter yet, what's stopping you?  Remember, if we expect our students to be connected, then we need to be connected as well!

Currently reading:

During my car ride this week, I listened to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  I thought it was definitely a good one to listen to since there are many different characters telling their perspective of Origami Yoda.  

I am excited to start listening to Absolutely Almost during my drive this week.  I have the actual book that I loaned to Mrs. Pierantozzi, and she informed me that her son enjoyed so I'm hoping I will too!  Here is a short book trailer about the book: 

I think I may have created a monster...Emerson has become slightly obsessed with books.  She loves to sit and flip through all of her books.  And she will pull one out of the pile and come crawl on my lap, wanting me to read to her.  Maybe she is going to be a non-fiction fan because her two favorites right now, which we read over and over, are one mini board book about fruits and veggies and this book about different animal heads...

Events this week:
Monday - Latin Class @ 3:30, Mandarin Chinese class @ 3:30
Wednesday - Veteran's Day, No school
Thursday - Student Council Meeting @ 8:30, Liz at Ed Eval Working Group Meeting 12-3
Friday - Dianna and Liz at SLT Meeting in the am

Great things I noticed last week:

• I overheard lots of singing going on in the gym and I discovered the whole second grade doing some singing activities after their music and teamwork enrichment program that had happened in their classrooms. 
  
• When Dr. Rodriguez and I walked around the building on Tuesday, we caught Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Smith's class giving each other some thoughtful compliments. 
  
• I walked into Mrs. Roundtree's room and Mrs. Nissi's room and found students hard at work writing using their story arcs.  
  
  
  
  
• Mrs. Mills's students were motivated and excited to write with partners about "small things" for poems they were working on...they had to be descriptive so that others could guess their small item.
  
• I caught Mrs. Wynn working with Mr. Rider's first graders.  They were eagerly demonstrating their knowledge of the commutative property after watching the dice roll on the screen.
  

Check it out:

• The Two Writing Teachers blog that I follow has been hosting a week long blog focus on information writing.  They are hosting a Twitter chat Monday night to sum up their week of talking about information writing.  Check it out tomorrow night @ 8:30 using the hashtag #TWTBlog.
• And here is one of the posts from Two Writing Teachers which focuses on Teacher-Written Mentor Texts: Diving into Information Writing
• November is Family Literacy Night, check out this link from DESE for tips on promoting family literacy and learning
• And one more funny clip about Twitter

The Homework Debate

Principal ponderings...

To assign or not to assign, that is the age-old question.  The discussion of homework is one that often gets pushed down on the list of priorities.  But it is an important conversation to have.  Homework is just one of those things that has been around in education for a very long time. My parents told me stories about their homework.  You and I had homework when we were in school.  And now our students have homework.  So it is one of those things that fits into the category "we've always done it."  What we know about teaching and learning is always evolving and changing.  We have changed our expectations.  We have changed how we do things in the classroom.  But why has homework not changed?

I have been reading lots of blog posts and articles lately about the homework debate.  There have been studies done that have determined that homework is not necessary and that it has no impact on student learning.  There have also been reports that elementary students are getting three times as much homework as what is recommended.  And there are also lots of discussions about how homework impacts situations at home, causing anxiety and stress for students and parents.

Take a look at some of these articles and posts:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/26/homework-an-unnecessary-evil-surprising-findings-from-new-research/?postshare=4301445612834867
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/12/health/homework-elementary-school-study/
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-vs-no-homework-wrong-question-maurice-elias
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/the-growing-argument-against-homework/article23358570/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/the-case-against-homework/

I have lots of my own thoughts and questions about homework.  We will be discussing this topic possibly at an upcoming staff meeting or in team meetings.  I ask all of you to take some time to read over one or more of the articles I listed or search for your own...there are a lot out there!  Think about what you have been doing for homework with your students.  Think about how you utilize homework.  Think about the purpose of your homework that you assign.  I am not asking you to change anything, I am simply asking you to think about what you have done, what you are doing and what the benefits or challenges are in regards to homework.

Should we keep doing what we've always done?  Or should we think about changing our practice?

Currently reading:
This week, I have been enjoying reading more of the graphic novel, El Deafo.  This book would make for good discussions with students about fitting in and accepting friends who are different.

My MCBA book choice this week is the I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001.  I imagine I am going to have a harder time reading this than the 4th graders since I lived through this.  My neighbor at the time was one of the TJX employees on one of the planes.

I checked out some new audio books to listen to on my daily drive.  The one I will start with is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  This is the only book I have ever abandoned when I was a classroom teacher.  I was reading it to my second graders, and I just couldn't get into it so I told them they could borrow to read on their own, but I was going to stop reading it.  The other day, I saw a FloRo student reading the book and I asked her about it.  I decided I needed to give it a second chance.  Especially since Kate DeCamillo is one of my favorite writers!

Events this week:
**Hope everyone remembered to turn their clocks back!  Goodbye driving home in the daylight!
Monday - Latin Class @ 3:30, Mandarin Chinese @ 3:30
Tuesday - optional follow up staffing meeting @8:30 with the superintendent, Dr. Rodriguez visits FR for the morning
Wednesday - Staff meeting @ 3:30, Liz's final SEI Admin course!
Friday - All School Assembly in the PAC @ 9:20 - The Ned Show - Character Education

Great things I noticed last week:

• On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend the DESE Fall Convening where I went to sessions about developing a shared understanding of quality practice (check out this video library that DESE has put together, we might use some of these for discussion), effective use of PLCs, and reviewing the new Educator Effectiveness Guidebook for Inclusive Education.  And then I went to my 3 hour SEI Admin course.  Slight information over load that day!
• Thursday was one of my favorite days of the year...Dress Like A Favorite Book Character Day!  There were lots of students and teachers showing their spirit!
  
• Love this message that I saw a student post in the shared lit room! #growthmindset from the mouths of babes! 
  
• I caught Mrs. Smith getting mummified!  
  
• It was a full moon this week, we had a half day, it was the day before Halloween, it was the end of the day on a Friday...yet I walked into Mrs. Mills's classroom and students were all lost in their books!
  
• I had a great chat with some 4th graders who were checking out the MCBA recommendation board.  One student was helping another student add her book rec write-up, and then we just started talking about what we had already read, what we wanted to read next, which ones we liked...and more 4th graders joined us on their way to the bathroom.  Loved every second of that hallway discussion!
  
  
  

Check it out:
A parent shared this interesting read with me about how the typical parent-teacher conference is changing: http://hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/reimagining-the-parent-teacher-conference?utm_source=Reimaging+Parent-Teachers+Conferences&utm_campaign=Reimaging+Parent-Teacher+Conferences&utm_medium=email
Why we have to keep going, we have to keep teaching even during the most difficult times: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/why-teachers-need-to-keep-going-even-when-its-hard/
I'll leave you with this thought...

Keep on reeling!

Principal ponderings...

When I was in kindergarten or first grade, I asked my dad what the 'crack of dawn' meant.  Somehow that phrase had come up in conversation, and I was curious about it.  Of course, my dad being my dad did not tell me what it meant, he simply said that he would show me.  But he said I would have to wait until a different day before he could show me.  A few days later, my dad came and woke me up.  It seemed like it was the middle of the night.  It was still dark outside.  He had me dress in layers, packed us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and loaded fishing gear into the car.  As we waved goodbye to my mom and pulled out of the driveway, I asked him where we were going.  He said, "Didn't you want to learn about what the 'crack of dawn' meant?"  We stopped off at a convenience store to buy some worms, and then drove to a little pond tucked away from the world.  It was still dark as we began to walk down a windy dirt path with our flashlights and fishing poles.  When we got to the water, the sun was just beginning to show itself.  My dad said with a smile, "That is the crack of dawn."

I was reminded of this story when I came across this video clip of a different little girl fishing with her dad:

In this two minute clip, we see some amazing things going on, besides just the fact that she caught a big fish.  When she first starts realizing that she has a fish on the end of her Barbie pole, she is excited and immediately starts asking her dad for help.  The great thing is...he doesn't jump in and help or take the pole away and do it for her.  He tells her, "Keep on reeling!"  So she does exactly that.  She doesn't give up.  And then as she gets more and more excited about what she is doing, realizing that she is about to land a big fish, she turns to her dad and asks, "Are you making a video?"  When she realizes she is being filmed, she gets distracted from her task and even starts to get a little silly.  Again, does dad take the pole from her and take over the tough job of reeling the fish in?  No, he says again, "Keep reeling!"  And then she does it!  She is so excited that she was able to reel in a fish that is 20 inches long!  Dad asks her, "What do you think?"  And you can see her jumping for joy and cheering, "I got one finally!"  She is so proud of her accomplishment.  It took a lot of work, it was difficult, she struggled, and she did it on her own.

We can learn a lot from this little girl and her father.  This video clip certainly made me think of growth mindset.  We have lots of kids fishing in our school.  We give them the pole.  We guide them to the fish.  But we have to make sure that we are stepping back and encouraging them to "keep on reeling."  They are going to struggle.  They are going to say it's too hard.  They are going to ask for help.  But we need to let them experience the joy and excitement that comes with accomplishing those difficult tasks on their own.

That morning that my dad taught me about "the crack of dawn," he also showed me how to put a worm on a hook.  Once he demonstrated for me how to do it, he let me practice doing it.  I am sure I got frustrated at times and handed the worm and hook back to him, but he kept encouraging me to do it on my own.  It did not take long before I was able to set the hook up on my own.  I was proud of the fact that I could do it all by myself.  I needed my teacher, but I didn't need my teacher to do it for me.

Think about your students.  Are you encouraging them to "keep on reeling?"  When they are saying it's too hard or I need help...stop and remember that they can do it...they can catch that big fish.  And then you will be there to jump for joy with them!

Here's a short video clip with some great visuals related to growth mindset:

Currently reading:
I finally finished up The Wishing Spell, one of the MCBA books.  Took me a long time, but it was a good story, always like the fairy tale twist books.  There are several more in the series, but I am thinking I will take a break before I jump into another one in the series.

I am just starting another MCBA book by an author that lives in our state, Patricia MacLachlan.  I have enjoyed some of her other books, so I hope that I will enjoy Fly Away.  

I have been trying to lower the height of my to-be-read pile which is next to bed.  One of the books on that pile that I picked up to read this week is The Secret Chicken Society.  It seems like a funny book that will be a quick read.

And in preparation for a presentation that I will be giving to other principals in the area, I have been reading different sections of Digital Leadership.

Events this week:
Monday - Latin after school @ 3:30, Mandarin Chinese @ 3:30
Tuesday - Dianna out of district for the day, School Council Meeting @ 3:30
Wednesday - Liz out of district for the day, Grade 4 chorus practice @ 2:25
Thursday - Curriculum half day, dismissal at 12:15, Spirit Day! Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character!

Great things I noticed last week:

• Mrs. Wilkins's class was eager to share their fall sensory writing with me.  I loved this one that talked about "eggcorns."  Have you seen 'eggcorns on your fall walks?!
  
• Mrs. Bukowksi was leading a Scholastic News discussion with Mrs. Lanctot's class.
  
• I stopped by in the hallway to read Mr. Coronis's writing display.  Check them out...but here's a warning...your stomach might be growling after you're done since they are all about snack food!
  
• Mrs. Fournier's class was busy doing independent reading when I popped in.  Check out their display.  The class challenged themselves to read 80 books during the month, and they are currently at 65+!  Way to go readers!
  

Check it out:
A kindergarten teacher's post about growth mindset.
Here is a really cool video about our amazing brains!...

Wait for it...wait for it...

Principal ponderings...

We live in a fast-paced society.  We can get what we want whenever we want by simply hitting a few keys on the keyboard.  In fact, thanks to Siri, we don't even need to type, we can get answers as soon as we push a button and ask for an answer.  We avoid waiting as much as possible.  If you don't want to wait for commercials to end to get back to your show...we have DVR functions that allow us to pause and fast forward shows.  If you don't want to wait in line at Disney World, then all you have to do is buy a 'skip the line' pass and you can avoid waiting in line.  If you don't want to wait for someone to ring you up at the grocery store, then all you have to do is go to the scan your own aisle.  We don't do well with waiting.

But in the classroom, we need to try to remember to allow for waiting.  Considering how fast-paced our world is, it is extremely difficult to think about and incorporate wait time in our teaching.  This is coming from the queen of fast talking herself!  I remember when I was teaching, feedback from peers that observed me usually centered around me needing to slow down my speech and then also reminding me to give plenty of wait time when asking students questions.  

Research shows that wait time means 3 to 5 seconds.  When you have 20+ little faces staring at you on the rug, 3 to 5 seconds can feel like an eternity.  But it is important to give that wait time.  Research has also shown that when teachers utilize appropriate wait time, they end up with more students participating in discussion and students doing more thinking.  Which is what we want.

It's certainly hard to watch yourself and see if you are remembering about wait time.  You can always invite a peer in to do a specific observation.  I am always willing to come in and be an extra set of eyes as well!  You can even think about trying to do some internal counting...even do more than 5 seconds, over-exaggerate if you need to in order to turn it into a habit.  In the past, I have even had teachers who have asked another adult to do a quick video using their phone or used the audio recording function on a phone and then listen back to hear and track how much wait time you are using.

This week, as you are working with the whole group or even when you are working one on one with a student...be conscious of your wait time.  Are we giving all of our kids time to think and respond? 

Currently reading:
Even though I have listened to others read it, I have not actually sat down and read the book How Full is Your Bucket For Kids myself.  So Friday afternoon, at the end of a long short week...I read it and thought about how I will work on filling people's buckets this weekend and next week.  I have a copy in my office if anyone wants to read or reread this book to their class.

I started reading Cynthia Lord's second book in her Shelter Pet Squad series: Merlin.  It's a cute story about a ferret and how a 2nd grader overcomes some obstacles, like being the youngest, to be a helpful member of the Shelter Pet Squad.   As soon as I finish, the book will be donated to our library.  Thank you Cynthia Lord for sending it to us!

After spending some time last week with the poet, Andrew Green, who worked with our 4th graders, I realized I had not read poetry in a while.  So I picked up my book of list poems called Falling Down the Page.  One of my favorites from this collection?  "Book Time" by Avis Harley because it starts with the line "Some many places to read a book" and it ends with "Where do you like to read your book?", with lots of places listed in between those two lines.

I think I shared this at the beginning of the school year, but I am also reading a great book with the district school leadership team.  It's called Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well.  It is rather interesting, and I'm learning a lot from it and am able to apply that learning each day in a different way.

Events this week:
**K and 1 will have vision and hearing screening this week in the conference room.
Monday - 4th grade field trip to Mt. Wachusett, Latin class @ 3:30, Mandarin Chinese @ 3:30
Tuesday - 4th grade field trip to Mt. Wachusett, Optional forum with Dr. Rodriguez @ 3:30, Acting Crazy enrichment class @ 3:30
Wednesday - Liz out of district, 4th grade field trip to Mt. Wachusett, Grade 2 Chorus practice @ 2:25, Staff meeting @ 3:30, Spanish Club @ 3:30
Thursday - Dianna attending Anxiety Conference, Chinese Acrobats presentation 2-4 in the PAC @ 10:00
Friday - Liz & Dianna at SLT @ Prescott in the am

Great things I noticed last week:

• Most teachers had all day to focus on unpacking Eureka math modules.  I spent time with several special education staff members working on planning for our sub separate programs at the elementary and middle school levels.
  
• Wendy Kelly and Amanda Shumaker attended the first session for district CPI training.  Not sure what CPI is?  Ask one of them!
• I was in Mrs. Spiczka's half day K class and happened to catch Mrs. Shreve who is coming in to work with small groups of students.
  
• I was glad that I popped into Mrs. Nissi's class when Andrew Green from Potato Hill Poetry was doing his presentation.  I enjoyed writing with the students and watching him inspire everyone to write about "small things."
  
  
  
  
• Thank you to Karen Tuomi and Officer Henehan for coming to our Friday para meeting and following up with more training/discussion about our lockdown drills.
  

Check it out:
Here is a good post about getting kids to pump up the volume in writing...getting them to write more.

Let's get connected!

Principal ponderings...

Did you know that October is Connected Educator Month?!  What does that mean?  Well, check out this two minute clip about Tim, The Connected Educator.

Are you using 21st century skills to engage your students in the learning process?  If you answered yes, then you are a connected educator.  Of course, before you connect your students, you need to first make sure you are a connected learner.  We live in a world where we no longer have to wait to attend a conference or curriculum day to connect with other educators and learn from each other.  Now we can simply open up our laptop, unlock our phone with a thumbprint or swipe on our tablet.  Educators from around the world are literally at our fingertips.  I realize that sometimes that much opportunity, that many connections can be a bit overwhelming.  But if we have any hope of teaching students to be members of this global community, then we must make sure we are making connections.

To be a connected educator, you can start off by simply seeking out connections.  Start with social media.  Everyday educators are posting interesting articles and resources online.  For example, I belong to a group on Facebook called The Heart of Literacy.  While I don't get to read every post, I make a point to read the ones that interest me.  Or maybe you connect through Pinterest; if you do, then you have probably already found this page of ideas for using Eureka Math in elementary school.  Or maybe you connect through Twitter and listen in on conversations about education from around the world by following #edchat.  How about podcasts?  Next time you are stuck in traffic or need something in the background while you are working in your classroom, check out some of these top education podcasts.  And something really new that I am only just beginning to check out...Voxer!  Voxer is an app for your phone where you can send messages, photos and record yourself talking.  You can join groups and simply listen in to what people in the group are saying or you can join in on the conversation!  It's sort of like a nationwide walkie talkie.  I am just beginning to play around with this and will be writing a more detailed post about it in a few weeks.

I encourage you all to become connected educators or become even better connected educators.  Seek out resources, start up online chats, Skype with a teacher from across the country, blog about your experiences or read and respond to other educators' blogs.

Check out connectededucators.org and learn about ways to get connected this month.  There is so much out there for us to learn about and we have so much to share with other educators.  So what are you waiting for?  Let's get connected!

Currently reading:
4th graders will soon be reading the MCBA books...Massachusetts Children's Book Award books.  I have read several on the list and am working my way through the rest of the list.  This weekend, I picked up a very quick read, Jack gets a Clue: The Case of the Loose-Toothed Shark.  This is a very easy read and your students who like mysteries and sharks might enjoy this one.

I also started reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park.  It is an interesting story which is actually two stories intertwined, one story of a child in Sudan in 1985 and one story of a child in Sudan in 2008.  Here is a video clip where the author talks about why she wrote this book. 

I also read a great picture book that I recently bought at the book store.  It's called My Leaf Book and it is perfect fall reading!  It would be good to read this book and take a sensory walk...and you can use the book to help identify different types of leaves.

Events this week:
Monday - Columbus Day, no school
Tuesday - Curriculum Day, no school, classroom teachers begin math PD time at 8:30, all other staff meet at the PAC @ 8:30 for MTSS presentation
Wednesday - Grade 1 chorus practice in the gym @ 2:25, PTA Meeting @ 7:30 in the cafeteria - Sue Wynn, guest speaker
Thursday - Library Fund Committee Meeting @ 8:15, Elementary Math Night @ HS Black Box at 7:00
Friday - Para meeting @ 9:00

Great things I noticed last week:

• I was lucky enough to pop into Mrs. Hoke's and Ms. Johnson's classroom just as reading partners were beginning to read to each other during reader's workshop.
  
• I enjoyed watching Mrs. McEvoy lead students through step by step of taking from 10 within 100.  She had them organizing their steps in their journals. 
  
• Before school started one morning this week, I had a visit from a budding kindergarten author/illustrator.  She made a whole book about animals and came to my office to read it to me.  This was a picture of her favorite page, but I loved some of her other pages that said things like: "Here is a cat with a twinkle in its eye." :)
  
• Loved the growth mindset work I saw hanging in Mrs. Taylor's room!
  
• Mrs. Guernsey borrowed an idea from a Swallow Union teacher...using students' names and interests in the application problem and her class was psyched to try to solve the problem, including the student who noticed it was about him!
  
• The new Florence Roche Student Council had their first meeting this past week.  Looking forward to some exciting projects that will be generated by them this year!
  
• And of course our week was topped off by a special visit from Cynthia Lord!  Thanks to the PTA, all grades were able to hear her speak about reading and writing.  Some grades even got a sneak peak at her newest Hot Rod Hamster book!  Love her simple message of 4 things that helped her become a writer.  This week I will be drawing some teachers' names and donating autographed books to classroom libraries!
  
  
  
  

Check it out:
Love this post about the best advice from fictional characters...and the number one character is one of Cynthia Lord's!
DESE has put out a Teachers' Top 3 which is a direct communication sent to you...three simple items that will be sent every other week.  Sign up here: http://dese.top3fromese.sgizmo.com/s3/