First Week Assessments? Check!

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

First Week Assessments? Check! —

What a first week. I hope you were able to get your testing done, or at least get most of it done. We have a few aides will be able to help you. Please let me know if you need some help finishing up the testing. As you get this information put into the spreadsheet (change your size to 75% so you can see it better) it should give you a better picture of what needs your students have in literacy. This will help in all subject areas as we have students read and understand what they are doing. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can't have it." -- Dr. Robert Anthony

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Aug. 19- First day of Kindergarten Mon. Aug. 19 - First day of PE Mon. Aug. 19 - Library and Computer Start Turs. Aug. 22 - PE	Tues. Aug. 27 - Acadience testing (All day) Wed. Aug. 28 - SEP Conf. 4-7pm Thu. Aug. 29 - SEP Conf. 4-7pm Fri. Aug. 30 - Evaluation Training 8am Fri. Aug. 30 - PTA Room Mom Meeting 1:00
Upcoming Dates - Mon. Sept. 2 - Labor Day. No School

Favorite Smartphone Apps This Week —

You have read a lot this week and so I thought I would give you a list of apps to check out. This is a list of Apps on either Apple or Android devices. They are helpful in a lot of places. 

GasBuddy- This shows gas prices everywhere you go. Good to have on vacation or just to look at what prices are wherever you are.

Duolingo- If you don’t have this app it is a great way to learn a little Chinese, or Spanish, or even Navajo. Stretch your language usage. 

Star Chart- What a great app when you are outside at night looking at the stars. Or even during the day and you are learning about stars and planets. 

Snapseed- This is a photo editing app. If you like editing photos this is a pretty good one. 

Flush- Yes this is an app for finding the nearest public bathroom. You may think it is funny, but when you need one, this is the app to have. It does not tell you the name of the place you are going to, but there is a bathroom there.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, teachers, aides, staff, and everyone for working to get everything done this first week of school. I appreciate all the work you put into your jobs. Please know that I appreciate what you do. From the lunch aides to the custodians to the teachers and secretaries. There is so much you do to make students successful and make this school a safe place for students to come every day. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

To Learn, or Not to Learn

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

To Learn, or Not to Learn? —

What does it mean to learn? Is that what we do in school? Do we teach learning or do we expect knowing? As I ponder this thought I think back to all the students that knew the answers right away in a lesson. Were they learning? I am not sure they were or did. If they knew it I went on to the next thing. So my next question is, how do we teach students to learn? Is this what we are supposed to be doing with our students, teaching them how to learn and helping them be life long learners? Ask yourself these questions(write them down) and then ask your students the same questions on a google form, or some other way. See if they are the same or if they are different. And then decide what do I do from there. Here is a short tutorial about how to create a google form and share it with your students. Google Form Tutorial

• What makes a good learner?
• What do good learners do when they get stuck?
• What do good learners do when they don't know what to do?
• What is learning? 

Quote I’m pondering —

“"The goal isn't to be fearless, the goal is to fear less." — Tim Ferriss

What I’m watching —

Green and Clean 

Stephen Covey tells a story of how he worked with his son to take care of the yard. Lesson in teaching from the author of “Seven Habits…”

Favorite Article This Week —

Why the 21st Century Classroom may remind you of Starbucks

The flexible seating idea has caught on in many classrooms this year. One thing that this article brings to mind is how engagement and procedures are more important in this type of classroom. Where there is more freedom there is more responsibility. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you teachers and aides. The Dixie Sun Shiners Club time(trying out names to see how they roll off the fingers) has been an idea in the works and it can to be on Tuesday. As I walked around there was a little confusion with the switching (to be expected on the first day), but it was minimal. It was so smooth. The halls were quiet as students moved between classes. Thank you for taking on this next piece of learning that students want and need. Interventions looked good. The extension classes looked fun. I am excited to see how well it goes over the next few weeks as they settle in. I just want to say thank you fro all your work, for your helps nd for your ideas. You are so willing to do what you can to help your students. Thank you aides for taking a class and teaching something you are interested in. Thank you teachers for intervening with our students. I hope this time will be intentional and successful. Thank you for making the Dixie Club Time (here’s another name idea) work. Thank you for all you do for our students. Thank you. 

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.

What’cha Doing This Summer?

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

What’cha Doing This Summer? —

When Kim pitched to me the idea of starting a book study of Harry Wong and Annette Brinkman this summer, I thought it was a great idea. Having a group of educators get together and discuss, model, and learn together about how we can help students better is always a great plan. If you have a chance, come and enjoy the great discussions we will have. We will post the days on the DSES Staff Information Calendar on your Google Calendar.

I also want to mention Twitter again. After you sign up for Twitter take a minute and search for some hashtags. Read or participate in a couple chats during the summer. They are about an hour long, but you don’t have to participate or even be there when it happens. You can read any chat that happened by searching the hashtag and reading through the tweets. The #tlap and read some of the tweets that are there. If you search for the #tlap hashtag on Monday nights at 7pm. you can read or participate as creative teachers from around the country discuss topics about improving professional practice. Another chat is #edchat that you can search or read and participate on Tuesdays at 5:00pm. If you are also interested in learning more about using tech in the classroom and how other educators use tech in their classes, Mondays at 6pm is #edtechchat. My favorite chat is one that I just found called #EduGladiators on Saturday mornings at 9:30am. Spend the hour or a few minutes reading some of the tweets and learn see what is happening around the country in education. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“Don’t buy complexity; the simpler you make your training, the better the results become.”

– Ryan Flaherty

What I’m watching —

Year End Gifts

I have to get in at least one more Gerry Brooks video before the end of the year.

Favorite Article This Week —

Talking to Yourself (Out Loud) Can Help You Learn

Just in case you hear me talking to myself you will know why.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Teachers. We have finished up SAGE and the scores look good. The scores are better than last year and the students are improving. This is all in part of every grade in the school. The 3rd grade scores reflect everything that has been done with the students from Preschool to 3rd grade. The scores in 4th and 5th grade show the work done with each student from time they started at our school until they test. Overall the scores have made good improvement. I can’t wait to see  the final scores after all is said and done. Thank you teachers for all you do with the students. Thank you specialists, paras, and aides. You are also a huge part in each student making improvements each and every year. Thank you everyone for all you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend. 

Searching

Teachers,
Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday.

Searching —
If has been a busy month and I did not get to the tech training that I wanted to do. We just had so much we have been doing as a school that I thought another thing would push everyone over the edge. So I will start here. Searching. Not googling. Searching. I was listening to my wife talk about why she can't find a certain document for work because the name was changed and she does not know how to find it. So here are a few rules when naming documents. First rule is to name it so you can find it. Long names are fine. Sentences are not. When you are sharing a document, like lessons plans, with someone, put your name on it. It makes it easier to find and it will not get mixed up with someone else. When you are searching for a document in google Docs, the search will look through the document for words also. So if you forget the name of the document, search for a prominent word or phrase in the document and it should be able to find it. The last thing I want share with you is about sharing. If you do not want the people you share with messing with your document, select the view only box and they will be able to see it, but not add too it. I hope this helps as you are naming documents and searching on your computer.

Quote I’m pondering —
"There is much more to life than increasing its speed." Mahatma Ghandi

What I’m watching —
Why It's Time To Forget The Pecking Order at Work
Another TED talk that talks about super chickens and how to make teams work better together.

Favorite Article This Week —
100% is overrated
I always think about how many times my teachers told me I was smart because I got 100%. Then I think about the times I did not get 100% and how I felt that I was not as smart as I should be. I like how this article suggests we change our labels.

A Big Thank You —
I want to thank a couple of our unsung heroes at school. Our lab aides, Nicola and SherryAnn. They help our students with usernames and passwords, collecting data for Imagine Learning and iReady. They keep us on track, and we need that. Thank you for all your hard work with our students and especially keeping us where we need to be. Thank you ladies. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.

Technology

Teachers,
Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday.”

Technology —
Technology in the classroom is an amazing tool to help in our teaching. It opens up the world to our students which can be amazing. As we use more technology in our classrooms it means more opportunity for teachers and students. It also means more management to see that students are doing what they are supposed to. Procedures need to be thought out. Students need to be trained. But what we can do with the Chrome books and Google Drive in the classroom is incredible. Using our Chrome books gives us opportunity to share devices and still track what each student is doing because their history and bookmarks follow the student, not the device. iPads will still be used in Kinder and First Grade to offer them apps that will help them learn but still gives us the ability to lock them into an app.

Wifi has been spotty lately and should get better soon. Have an alternative plan if it shuts down. have the students shut their Chrome books and read for a minute or work on something else. If you get them trained to do something like this you will know when there is a problem and if it is one student or the wifi. Have a wifi checker and when it is back up get them started again. Management. Plan for everything possible.

We will be having a optional tech trainings every couple weeks starting in October. We decided to wait until October to give you another month to settle in. The trainings will be short and will be about tech you use or will use everyday in your classrooms.

Quote from Calvin and Hobbes I’m pondering —
Calvin: They say the world is a stage. But obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines.
Hobbes: Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
Calvin: We need more special effects and dance numbers.

What I’m watching —
The Power of Yet
When a student does not get a concept the first time, they get frustrated. We get frustrated. The power of yet is a mindset that they might not get it now, but they will. So the answer to a student that says, “I don’t understand this” is, “You don’t understand it yet, but you will”. Yet give students hope. It gives everyone hope.

Favorite App This Week —
Explain Everything $4.99
I don’t like paid apps, especially expensive ones, but this app is amazing. It is a whiteboard app that you can draw on, record video or take pictures on, and even record what you are doing on a web browser. So what you say? We have used it for tracking students for spelling, recorded students reading during one minute timings (adding notations during the reading), and had students cut out words for a word sort on the app. There are some amazing things to do. It is worth the price for me. If you don’t like the price, Doceri is a free app that is similar but not as powerful. There is a Chrome Book app (there is a cost here also) that is great for touch screen devices.

A Big Thank You —
Thank you Lisa Wright and her team. Scheduling the individual help for our LLI students is a nightmare. Lisa worked through the DRA scores and found the students that need the most help. Her team is amazing on how they work with each small group. With all the schedules they needed to work around and with as many students they needed to work with, it was a huge undertaking. Thank you Lisa and your team for all you do at our school for the students. Thank you.

I appreciate everything you do for the students. Have a wonderful weekend.