https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=883
Hi All,
Seven items of note for this week.
• Collaborative Practice Pilot – If you missed Laurie Moses’ email last week about the Collaborative Practice Pilot, you should dig it out of the trash and give it a second look. Teachers at both schools already do an excellent job of collaborating, but this would be a great opportunity to actually get some time off to do it and to learn from each other (while on the clock!). More info can be found on the 4J website here if you’re interested.
• Staffing Survey – If you haven’t done so already, please send me your staffing survey. You can reply to me via email or by returning a hardcopy to my mailbox (although I prefer email). All answers will be kept confidential.
• Hallway Breaker Panel Access – We’ve been informed by Facilities that we can no longer allow staff access to the hallway breaker panels to turn heat on and off in classrooms. Since certain rooms do often have heating issues, instead inform Crystal immediately, who will call out heating techs to resolve the issue.
• Lane ESD Math Contest – A contest for Lane County schools is being run on the Sumdog website to see which school can answer the most math questions. The contest takes account of school size, so everyone has a fair chance of winning. Students take part by playing the free multiplayer math games on Sumdog from February 22 to February 29. The first prize is a Certificate of Merit, and a full site license for “Yenka Mathematics” software (worth $750), and there are also daily school prizes and student prizes. I’ve attached a poster with basic information. Once teachers have entered their students into the contest, students can play on Sumdog on any computer with an internet connection for it to contribute to the school’s overall score – it does not matter where they play the game (whether at home, in the library or in the classroom).
• Summer Agriculture Institute – I’ve never heard of this, but I got an email about a weeklong graduate level course for K-12 educators with little or no agricultural background, offered through Oregon State University. It’s billed as “an ideal opportunity for teachers who are working to earn their Master’s degree.” If you’re interested, here is the email I was sent, along with an application and Fact Sheet.
• Women’s Vital Role in Black History – This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Black Women in Culture and History.” Teaching Tolerance offers a variety of resources that can help teachers of all grades explore the theme in class.
• Just for Fun Video – Not really related to schools, but it could be something fun to show kids. Artist Fabian Gaete Maureira brings fingerpainting to a whole new level, in that he can paint an entire Bob Ross style landscape scene in about a minute, only using a finger or two. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJCBGhyO7o[/youtube]
Enjoy your Valentine’s Day and the impending three day President’s Day weekend!
Allan