Week of April 29th
Hi Everyone,
Here is the schedule of some events for the week :
April 29 (M)
PRIDE Focus: Discipline
7:30-8:30, Joel to All Administrators Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00-3:30, Stand-Up Staff Meeting (Room 13)
Claire Out
April 30 (T)
9:00-12:00, Cathy Waggener’s Class to Dorris Ranch
2:15-2:30, Bulldog Recess
7:30-3:00, Joel hosting Learning About Learning Network Meeting (Awbrey Park)
May 1 (W)
9:00-12:00, Gietter’s Class to Dorris Ranch
3:00-4:00, Data Mtg. – 3,4,5 (Room 13)
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principal’s Meeting (NEHS) 5:30-6:30, Joel to Executive Session with Board (Ed Center)
May 2 (H)
9:00-12:00, Powell’s Class to Dorris Ranch
7:45-11:15, Grade 1 Creating Common Formative Assessments in Math PD (Ed Center) 3:00-3:30, SEED Pre-testing Meeting Grades 3,4,5 (Gietter’s Room)
May 3 (F)
7:45-11:15, Kindergarten Creating Common Formative Assessments in Math PD (Ed Center)
Some items of note for this week:
LEL Network at Awbrey Park on Tuesday
Tuesday we will be hosting the Learning About Learning Network for Elementary (LEL) in our building. Here is a short article in the Harvard Education Magazine that explores the basic concept behind Instructional Rounds. This particular group is called LEL B. There are more than 7 networks in 4J. LEL B is composed of 5 teacher leaders, 5 principals, and 3 instruction dept. leaders. We are the last group to be visited this year in this network. The schools in our network include: Buena Vista Dual Immersion, Holt, River Road Dual Immersion, Charlemagne Fox Hollow, and Awbrey Park.
The LEL B group will be broken into 5 groups. The groups of 3 or 4 will observe classrooms for 15 minute periods between 9:25 and 11:30. The group will be observing classrooms to explore the relationship of students to learning within the instructional core. Observers will be focused on students in the classroom. LEL data is collected and composed into patterns that emerge amongst the group. Engaging discussions occur after observation and we end the day around 3:00.
I will be making last minute changes to the observation schedule on Monday and checking in with teachers who are on the schedule. Most specifically, I might ask you about your content that we could see during the visit. I will send a finalized schedule via email on Monday evening.
Using Video in the Classroom – This is a plug from me about a great application for helping students learn how to create simple videos for class presentations. My daughter has a project at Edgewood this Spring in 3rd Grade on visiting Eugene landmarks. The teacher has shown students how to use a simple video creation tool called Animoto. I tried it this weekend and have been helping her collect photos for her project. Lila made her own video in 10 minutes! This article shows how to use Animoto and other web based video composition tools. It is fun and student centered learning! Check it out.
Maximizing a Student Teacher’s Learning – For those of you with student teachers or will in the future, here is a quick two page list on how to maximize their learning in your classroom.
LaneKids Poster Contest – LaneKids is having a poster contest for kids up to age 12 with prizes around the poster theme “I know my parents love me because…”. Although I question how inclusive that theme is for all students, I did want to share at least about LaneKids, which is a parenting education hub grant-funded through the Oregon Community Foundation. The Lane ESD is a partner and they have a really good web site that’s worth sharing.
Less than 31 days left of school!
Joel