Whoooo, can believe it?  May is just around the corner!  You will soon close out your first year of teaching at Seymour Community Schools.  I found this information from Mike Anderson, a Responsive Classroom consultant.  I thought it would be helpful to you as you think about the final weeks of your first year!

Resource:  www.responsiveclassroom.org

The end of the school year is an emotional time. By this time, many students (and teachers!) are eager for summer vacation, yet many children have mixed feelings about leaving the comforting structure of school. As the weather warms, attention to schoolwork fades. And perhaps most difficult for teachers who’ve worked to build a strong sense of belonging, the classroom community can feel as if it’s falling apart.

I’ve heard some teachers say that mentioning the end of the school year as little as possible will keep stress levels down. In my experience, though, the reverse is true. We know that students are excited or worried or both, so I think it’s important to spend time talking about what’s going on. We need to address the transition to the next grade, refocus on this year’s classroom community, and reinforce the expectation that learning will continue until the last day of school. As with every other aspect of school, the more time we spend setting children up for success, the better.

Planning for the End of the Year

This is a great time to be thinking about how you'll finish strong. Here are a few ideas to try:

Hold End-of-the-Year Meetings

Beginning in late spring, hold meetings to discuss the transition to the next grade. Invite students to share their questions and concerns. A few questions that will likely surface are “Who’ll be my next teacher(s)?” “Who’ll be in my class(es)?” and “Can I come back to visit you next year?”

Consider letting students write down questions and put them in a box. Answer a couple of questions during each meeting.

Do a Culminating Activity

Culminating projects or outings are a great way to consolidate learning while keeping the community strong. 

Examples:  

• Class Jeopardy game. Students create questions from their learning and shared experiences throughout the year. 
• Create a time capsule. Have students gather and store mementos from the year in a box they decorate together. Show them where you’ll keep the box and explain that you’ll invite them to come back to open it together.
• Make a movie.   Rewrite a book into a screenplay or ask student to make a commercial for your class. Small groups of students can tape the movie/commercial around your school.

Reach Out to the Incoming Class

Sharing their expertise and experience with next year’s students gives a class a great sense of accomplishment while helping the incoming class. One simple idea with a literacy twist is to have each child write a letter to one of next year’s students, welcoming that student to the new grade/class. Writers can offer one piece of advice or describe something the new student can look forward to.

Connect with the Next Grade

The more we demystify the coming year for students, the more relaxed they’ll be as they finish the current year. Here are a few demystifying techniques:

• Meet the teachers. Bring your class to meet next year’s teachers. Or have those teachers visit your classroom.
• Do a Q&A meeting. Have some students from the next grade run a Q&A session to give your students student perspective on the year ahead.
• Look ahead. Describe the major units taught in the next grade. Let students discuss what they know about those topics and what they look forward to learning.
• Visit. Spend some time in a classroom at the next grade to give students an “on the ground” feeling for what next year will be like.

Celebrate!

Whole-group celebrations help maintain the class’s sense of community while letting students enjoy some time together. Support students’ self-control during celebrations by proactively reviewing behavioral expectations, quiet signals, and class rules for keeping everyone physically and emotionally safe. Also, plan how you’ll bring the celebration to a calm close.

An example of celebration idea:

• Fruit salad social. For this healthy alternative to an ice cream social, brainstorm fruits, toppings, dressings, etc., that might work well. Then prepare the feast together. 

It's Not Over Until It's Over

Our school days are so busy that slowing down to think about anything further away than the next week often seems impossible. But it’s exactly because we’re so busy that we need to think about ways to keep the focus on learning and community right through the end of the year. Otherwise, we risk losing valuable learning time. And we may deprive students of that wonderful feeling of bringing their work together to a fruitful conclusion. There’s a lot you can do to end the year on a positive note. Start planning now!

Reminder that our next induction meeting is May 12, 2015 at 4:00-5:30 pm at Central Office.  This will be our celebration for a Great First Year.   Food and Fun!

 

Little Pots of Gold....BLOGS 

This month I thought I might encourage you to start your own blog. 

Start my own blog!   You might be thinking.... "It's too hard. I'm too tired. I just don't have anything to say." I hope you will consider leaving those excuses behind. Many teachers are blogging and I can't say enough about the power of blogging in your life as a new teacher to our district. It will help you reflect, communicate, get feedback, and collaborate. I, myself, was a novice blogger three years ago. I'm happy to say that I feel like my blogging experience will always be a journey of discovery -- and I kinda like that.

There are some cool blogging platforms available on the web.  I use www.blogspot.com. Pick one that speaks to you and then... jump in! Let me know if you decide to get one up and running!

If you would like to get started a little slower, you can start by following other bloggers or reading blogs written to share ideas with teachers.  I know when I first started I looked at what others were doing to get some idea about what I might write about.   Here is a list of the Best Teacher Blogs of 2015:   http://edublogawards.com/2015-finalists/

You will find a listing of links you can click on to find advice, suggestions, lessons, ideas, and resources that you can use to make your work each day more effective and efficient.

To blog or not to blog....

Happy New Year!  

It's 2016 and time to think about resolutions.  Some of us will promise to lose weight or to save more money.  Others may decide to pick up or finish a home improvement project.  Whatever the resolution is, it generally focuses on making our lives better in some way during the new year.  I thought about what this might look like if we made a list of "Teacher Resolutions" for 2016.                

 What can we do now to resolve to do better by our students?

I found some teachers that posted such resolutions online:

“More one on one time during intervention, relax more, and enjoy every day with my students.”
Becky Charlton, Lebanon, Ohio

“Taking the time to enjoy my students. Time goes by so quickly and they are just an awesome bunch of kids!”                  Katie Dietterle, Oceanside, California

“Leave time and energy in the day to take care of me, physically, mentally, and spiritually.”     Carol L. Byrnes, San Diego, California

“To continue gaining expertise in technology, and learn fresh ways to incorporate it in my daily teaching. This is my 34th year, and there's still so much to learn!”
Karen Atterberry, Yakima, Washington

“I have a really awesome class of second graders. I resolve to take more of a facilitator role at times and not jump in at the first sign of a struggle to give my students more opportunities to ‘think.’ I want my students to be more actively engaged in their learning.”
Dawn Mixon, Winterville, Georgia

“To clean my room up and pretend it’s the first day of school again…fresh start and new attitude!”
Melinda Lantelme, Eagle Lake, Texas

As we return from our much-needed break, it’s time to resolve to make your classroom a happy place for you and your students in the long stretch to summer.   Remember to take care of yourself so you can take care of your students.  

Just a note about last months post:  A link to a short video that reminds us how much a small gesture or token of appreciation can impact a life.  If you haven't seen the video, you can check it out at:  http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership?language=en        If you have not discovered TED Talks...This site if full of great topics and speakers.

December 2015

'Tis the season of good cheer!  

This month I would like to discuss with you the power of positive notes sent home to your students and their families. Wouldn't it make your day if when you went to collect your mail if you found a postcard with a positive message about you or your child?  I mean really...."WHOOO" doesn't like to hear good things?

In my experience, at any level, students love receiving positive mail from their teacher and just the simple act of sending positive postcards to students and parents can have a tremendous impact on the work you do.  It is a very effective way to build positive communication between your classroom, the student, and home.

Here are a few tips about positive postcards:

1. Keep it simple.  The note is just a note, no need for an epic poem.
2. Pace yourself.  It is often suggested that a positive postcard be sent to each student you work with during the school year.  If that is your plan, send a few out regularly over the course of the school year.  This will help you avoid a scramble at the end of the school year to send all of your cards.
3. Kids can create postcards.  Cut card stock into postcards.  Let the students decorate cards you will use throughout the year.  Ask them to address one of their creations. This adds a special touch to your communication.
4. Be sure to double check the address is correct. 
5. You can consult with one of our translators to provide your message in English and Spanish.  For example: 

Johnny is a wonderful student. He listens, follows directions and is respectful to others.

Johnny es un maravilloso estudiante. Presta atención, sigue las indicaciones y es respetuoso con los demás. 

Wondering what you might write on a student's postcard....Here are some ideas:

• Thank you for working so hard! I called your dad to compliment you. ;) I would love to see your hard-working attitude continue! Keep it up!!
• You have made so many gains this year! Your attitude is better, you have less late work, and you are happy so often. I enjoy working with you! Keep working hard! :)
• You should be so proud of yourself! You are a hard worker and you always do your best! I enjoy working with you and watching you learn.
• You should be very proud of yourself! You are working hard, doing your best, and always getting things handed in on time. Keep it up! I'm glad you got so much done on Friday. Nice work!
• Thank you for always being such a great kid to work with! You make coming to school each day FUN! Keep working hard and READ, and you will fly through the rest of the school year.
• You should be proud of your behavior on Friday. You acted appropriately and got a lot of work done. Way to go!! Keep up the great work.
• I know school can be hard for you at times, but you do a good job of keeping a positive attitude. It's so exciting that you are keeping up on your ABC book for Social Studies. You should be very proud of yourself! Keep working hard!!

 Ideas taken from:   http://www.hojosteachingadventures.com/2012/03/positive-postcards.html

I will leave you with a quote:    “When parents feel that they are receiving frequent and positive messages from teachers, they tend to get more involved in their children’s education than their peers who do not perceive that they are receiving such communication.”

Taken from:  The Designbook for Building Partnerships

Merry Christmas!

30 Academic Vocabulary Words

In our classrooms we work with a wide variety of students.  No matter the grade or content we teach, it is important to work with all students to gain understanding of academic language.  This school year I am asking teachers to select a list of 30 vocabulary words per content area.   The work on this list is well underway.   You might be wondering why would Seymour even want to do this?  

First let's look at the findings: 

Vocabulary is among the greatest predictors of reading comprehension, and reading comprehension is central to learning in the content areas. (Baker, Simmons, and Kameenui) (Fisher & Frey)

Students need to know 96% or more of the words within any given text/passage to comprehend its message.  (Robb)

"Robert Marzano tells us that advanced students need about 4 exposures to a word to own it, basic students need about fourteen to master a word, and struggling students need at least forty, better known as the 4-14-40 Approach.  That said, it quickly becomes apparent for the classroom teacher that not all terms can be given the same amount of attention. This is the reason for "core academic vocabulary.” Teachers need to identify the 30 most essential terms within each academic subject for their grade level. They need to determine which words are worth 14-40 exposures. These won't necessarily be the "bold words" in the chapter. Rather these are the terms that come up all year long and give students the best chance of academic success."  

...taken from the work of Robert Marzano and Kristina Smekens

Robert Marzano's name is highlighted above so you can click on it to visit a Smeken's site with more information about developing academic vocabulary.   This site has some advice on how to select the 30 words for your grade/content.   I will expect these lists to be completed and submitted to me by the end of this school year.

This summer I plan to offer training sessions on best practices to teach academic vocabulary.   I will focus the training on six interactive strategies.  Those strategies are:

1.  Explain:  Students need to hear an informal definition of a term presented in a kid friendly way.

2.  Restate:  Students demonstrate understanding when they can restate the meaning in their own words.

3.  Show:  Student understanding deepens when they can accurately show meaning using abstract tools.

4.  Develop:  Students develop a deeper understanding when their knowledge broadens to include various uses                       and applications of the word.

5.  Refine:  Interactions all students to express their thinking, appreciate different perspectives, and refine                            understanding.

6.  Play:  Fast-paced activities help move recall from deliberate to automatic

As you work with students to gain those 14-10 exposures to a vocabulary word, I suggest you take a look at adding a vocabulary notebook to your teaching tool bag.  A vocabulary notebook can take any form.  You can use a totally separate notebook or you might use a digital file.   Smekens Site provides some ideas on how to maintain vocabulary notebooks.   Check it out!

We are "thankful" you are part of our team!  Have a great Turkey Day!

Transportation Requests

October Blog

This month I'd like to say a few words about field trips and transportation requests...

Seymour Community School Corporation has a form that must be filled out and turned in two weeks prior to a field trip.  The form will require you to provide information on the location, time of departure, supervisors, applicable standards, purpose of the trip, number going, time of return, and distance.  The form also requires your building principal's signature.

It is very important for staff to plan ahead.  The requirement to have the form turned in two weeks prior is necessary to make all of the arrangements for the trip.  (There are no restrictions on how early you can turn in a form.)  Once your principal signs the form it is sent to me.  I verify and forward it on to Mr. Tim Fosbrink, Director of Transportation for Seymour Community Schools.  I scan the forms and provide a copy to all those listed on the form once I have approved it.

If you have a trip that is out of state, this trip must be submitted to the school board for approval.  This means in addition to the two week window, you would need to plan to meet the requirements for board submission.  Our school board meets the second Tuesday of each month.  If you are thinking out of state, please speak with your building principal for guidance.

Our transportation department requires teachers to present the driver with a list of students and contact numbers before the bus will leave the parking lot.  This is for safety so plan to have this ready for your trip.

Field trips usually involve volunteers to help supervise.  Keep in mind that volunteers need to have a clear background check before they are permitted to participate.  Our district has a policy to define volunteer guidelines.  
Before you take your field trip you may want to cover souvenir protocols, supervision expectations, lunch meeting places, dress, and other such information.  It is important to clarify expectations and share specific information to make each field trip a successful and safe event.   If you create these protocols, share them with your building principal for tips and ideas to enhance communication.

Being prepared helps any event run smoothly.  Most field trips involve lunch and drink organization, permission slips,  and notices to parents.   When I took students on trips I made sure to carry various items that would help me meet the needs of students.  Items such as a few first aide items, latex gloves for cleaning up scraped knees, and a clip board with information on the pairings of volunteers with students.  I also kept a copy of the contact information with me. 

Usually, you take a trip with other classes.   Take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with others. 

I will leave you with just a few additional tips:

*Be mindful of your time.  The buses you are on for your trip will be required for regular routes.  It is important to leave and arrive back at school on time.
*Be sure to cover restroom protocols with volunteers.  It is important to keep track of students at all times.
*Confidentiality applies to field trips.  Be mindful of picture taking and recording of the event.  Be mindful of potential Facebook or other internet posts that could occur.  It is a good idea to set expectations up front.
*Be aware and prepared for medical needs or medications that will require administration during a field trip.

If you have questions or would like additional information, you can contact any administrator for assistance.  

Transportation Staff:    Tim Fosbrink, Director    Sandy Trimpe, Administrative Assistant

September 2015

As fledgling OWLS, you are out of the nest and flying high!  It is September and this school year is well on its way.  This month's blog targets technology and software available to you.

First of all, let me share district technology plans for 1:1 implementation.  Last year, SCSC implemented a Chromebook roll out to Grade 6 and AP students at SHS.  This year we added Grade 7, 8, and 9.  Due to the demand, we hope finish implementation at SHS in this first semester.  The goal of the 1:1 initiative is to increase engagement, apply 21st Century skills, and increase achievement.   SCSC has dedicated time and resources to train our staff to utilize these tools effectively.  Our plan is to continue distributing devices to new grade levels each year and to offer training as the initiative grows.  In addition, we have spent time presenting information to parents.  We want to provide as much information to all involved as possible.

It is an exciting time to be a member of the Seymour Community School Corporation team!

The remainder of this blog will provide you with some information on various aspects of this initiative.

SOFTWARE

Seymour Community School Corporation has developed a list of all the software programs available in our school district.  This document provides information on the title, grade access, cost, and contact persons.  

To view, please visit:   

Software List
(You will need to log in to your Google Account to view)

This list continues to grow and grow.  

USERNAMES/PASSWORDS

As you can see, we have an extensive list of programs that continues to grow. Each of these has websites to visit that require usernames and passwords.  You need to develop a system to keep track of your access codes.  It is a skill that we not only need for ourselves, but also need to teach students.  As our 1:1 technology initiative continues to grow, more and more students will need to manage their own usernames/passwords.  There are many online programs that can be used to help you remember this important information or you can go old school and keep a paper/pencil record.

EMAIL

I wanted to use this month's post to share some advice on using email.  Whether you are a brand new teacher or a seasoned veteran, we can all use a little email etiquette guidance from time to time.  Think of me as your own Miss Manners...

1. Be informal, not sloppy. Your colleagues may use commonly accepted abbreviations in e-mail, but when communicating with parents or community members, everyone should follow standard writing protocol. Your e-mail message reflects upon you and our school corporation, so traditional spelling, grammar, and punctuation rules apply.
2. Keep messages brief and to the point. Just because your writing is grammatically correct does not mean that it has to be long. Nothing is more frustrating than wading through an e-mail message that is twice as long as necessary. Concentrate on one subject per message whenever possible.
3. Use sentence case. USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING. Using all lowercase letters looks lazy. For emphasis, use asterisks or bold formatting to emphasize important words. Do not, however, overuse such devices.  After a while it loses its effect.
4. Use the blind copy and courtesy copy appropriately. Don't use Blind Copying to keep others from seeing who you copied; it shows confidence when you directly CC anyone receiving a copy.  Be cautious with your use of CC; overuse simply clutters in boxes. Copy only people who are directly involved.
5. Don't use e-mail as an excuse to avoid personal contact. Don't forget the value of face-to-face or even voice-to-voice communication. E-mail communication isn't appropriate when sending confusing or emotional messages.   If you are upset about something and on the verge of sending a lengthy, emotional email, have a friend read it first.  Often such emails only add another layer to the problem.  Email statements can be taken out of context.  Emails do not permit you to read the body language of the sender so you can often misinterpret the intention of the email.  If you have a problem with someone, speak with that person directly.  Because email can seem so informal, many people fall into this trap.  Always remember that email is forever!
6. Remember that e-mail isn't private. Employees can be fired for using e-mail inappropriately. E-mail is considered Seymour Community School Corporation's property and can be retrieved, examined, and used in a court of law. You should assume that e-mail over the Internet is not secure. Never put in an e-mail message anything that you wouldn't put on a postcard. Remember that e-mail can be forwarded, so unintended audiences may see what you've written. You might also inadvertently send something to the wrong party, so always keep the content professional to avoid embarrassment.  There are times you will need to share information about a student with a colleague.  When communicating about a student, we suggest you use initials or Student One/Student Two.   Remember any comment you make about a student or parent in an email is fair game in a court of law. 
7. Be sparing with group e-mail. Send group e-mail only when it's useful to every recipient. Use the "reply all" button only when compiling results requiring collective input and only if you have something to add. Recipients get quite annoyed to open an e-mail that says only "Me too!"  
8. Use the subject field to indicate content and purpose. Don't just say, "Hi!" or "From Laura." Use this line to identify the purpose of the email.  It could be helpful in searching for the email at a later date. 
9. Don't send chain letters, virus warnings, or junk mail.  It is the advice of Seymour Community School Corporation's Technology department to avoid opening any email that you do not recognize the sender.   In addition, do not click on attachments from senders you do not know, these often carry a virus that can impact our systems.   In addition, we suggest that you direct personal e-mail to your home e-mail account.
10. Remember that your tone can't be heard in e-mail. Have you ever attempted sarcasm in an e-mail, and the recipient took it the wrong way? E-mail communication can't convey the nuances of verbal communication.  Also, don't assume that using a smiley :)  will diffuse a difficult message.
11. Use a signature that includes contact information. To ensure that people know who you are, include a signature that has your contact information, including your mailing address, position, and phone numbers.
12. Picture Attachments.  Be aware that attaching pictures to an email and then sending it out to all employees will impact the entire email system.   If you have picture/video you'd like everyone to see or a notice for everyone, such as, an item for sale, you can contact Shawn Mahoney, Director of eLearning.  We have an area on our staff website for this purpose.

Remember to be a professional at all times.  Email is no exception!

Have a great September!