The following clip is probably something you want to say as you realize that Fall Break is almost over...
Fall Greetings to Everyone!
What a wonderful break! Can't wait to hear about everyone's stories about how they spent their blissful two weeks!
Knowing how breaks leave us a little foggy in the head about what was going on and what we were planning this Friday Flash is short and mostly a review of what was featured October 7th.
We report back to school on Monday, but students do not. You have the day to get your feet back on the ground and your head in the game. We will meet in the library at 3:00 to reconnect. Thanks Hanni in advance for planning another energizing and fun activity!
As you look around the building you'll notice that Eric has been busy, busy over break. Thank you Eric for making our building sparkle. The environment has a big impact on the way we feel about coming to work!!
Soon, our calendar will be choppy and full of interruptions due to holidays. It's an exciting time of year and even though there are many interruptions, the excitement in the air is an awesome time to take advantage of really focused instruction.
Calendar:
October 24 - 28th:
Monday Oct. 24th:
*No students
*Time for teachers to reground themselves, collaborate, plan....
*Meet in library at 3:00 to reconnect with one another
Wednesday, Oct. 26th:
*All School Meeting
*Professional Development (1:30 CITE standards, 3:00 Technology)
Thursday, Oct. 27th:
*Mary's field work rescheduled
Saturday, Oct. 29th:
*OLE Work Day
October 31 - November 4th:
Monday, October 31st;
*Halloween Parade @ 9:00 a.m.
*Parties in classrooms after parade
Tuesday, November 1st:
*Girl Scouts will be collecting candy before and after school through Friday
*REA meeting 2:30 p.m.
*OLE meeting 4:30 p.m.
*SAC meeting 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 2nd:
*Parent Orientation @8:00 a.m.
*Professional Development (Technology)
Halloween Plans:
Halloween party/parade plans will look like what we have done in the past. Students will arrive in costume and we will have a parade through classrooms. I will start the parade with Ms. Jody's kindergarten class and parade through each classroom. When we pass through your classroom you should join the parade as we leave your classroom until we bring you 'home'. Sixth grade needs to come in from the lodges and station yourself in the cafeteria.
Ask parents to use common sense when it comes to costumes. Nothing too scary or any weapons...
Once you are back in your classroom kids can take their costumes off, store them away, and you can begin your 'breakfast' party. This need not last a long time. Likely, you have been hearing from your Crew Parent about plans.
Having the costume parade is a big hit with parents and also a high value to them. This is an easy way for us to support our families. If you have any students whose parents do not want them to participate, I recommend just asking them to arrive to school late that day. See me if you have questions.
Also, the Girl Scouts will be collecting candy before and after school, beginning on Tuesday. They give the candy they collect to a dentist and are paid by the pound for the candy. The funds they raise are donated to the school. You can let your students/parents know about the collection should they not want to keep all of the candy they collect while trick-or-treating.
System Tweak:
We are going to try implementing a new process for entering the school before or after hours.
This process will take affect after Fall Break. If parents are entering Renaissance DURING school hours, they should enter through the front doors and sign in at the front office. If they are entering Renaissance BEFORE or AFTER school hours, they should enter through the back doors near the Art room via the playground. (These are not the doors into the cafeteria where Camelot is.) These back doors will be unlocked during the times there are before or after school programs. It is not necessary to sign in outside of school hours. It is important to note that children are not allowed to play on the playground while Camelot is in session (6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.). Hopefully this will alleviate some of the challenges parents experience trying to pick up their kids from after school activities.
Featured Folks:
So excited to be able to begin including 'Featured Folks'. Thanks Mary Beth! I'm sure your piece will inspire others to write one of their own.
Mary Beth’s reflections on 10 weeks at REMS...
"To begin with I must tell you all how thrilling it is to be with you, a crew of learners! I love my new teaching home.
For those of you who do not know it, this is my first year in the classroom. So why would a Reading Recovery/Literacy teacher at my age choose to take on a class of 29 first graders? Crazy? For sure. Crazy about little learners who have the right to the best instruction that we can give them.
I longed for my own community of kids. I wanted to be a bigger part of their daily lives. I longed to get back into literature and read alouds. (oh my, how I LOVE this part of every day, knowing that when I close the book my crew will yell, “cliff-hanger! ”Priceless!) I love science and social studies and I looked forward to diving into new learning with my students. Truth be told? There was another reason. Over the years as a literacy teacher it had become easy for me to be critical of classroom teachers. I thought I understood their work load, yet wanted them to do more and do it better. But, like most things in life, one can rarely understand what life is like in someone else’s shoes unless one has worn them too. Fortunately, I saw this in myself this past year and I decided to take a leap of faith and do my very best to give this classroom teacher thing a go while I still had the energy. It was VERY hard for me to leave my Reading Recovery teaching as I am passionate about growing the lowest learners. But I can truthfully say, I love this every bit as much.
So, here I am, entering my 11th week as a classroom teacher. My take-away? This is the hardest job in the world. However, each day, one of my crew touches my heart and I know that I would work to the end of my days to perfect this thing we do. Making a difference. One little one at a time. I am humbled. I am a learner. I am growing. I am happy:)"
Toontastic
Toontastic is a MUST HAVE storytelling app for every Kindergarten through 5th grade classroom. A few features that make this app stand out from other storytelling apps are it's flexible graphic organizer, tools for drawing unique settings and characters, screen animation, audio recording, and a safe online environment for publishing. As a member of a global audience, students can share and listen to stories on the Toontube site. In addition, a wonderful, interactive globe shows the approximate origin of every story. Toontastic provides fantastic opportunities to generate ideas, construct story outlines, and produce unique communication with a worldwide audience. They also provide a website for educators to share lesson ideas and form partnerships.
9 Essential Skills: Skill Number Three
Empathy
Some benefits of delivering consequences with empathy
1. The child is not distracted by the adult's anger
2. The child must "own" his or her pain rather than blaming it on the adult.
3. The adult-child relationship is maintained.
4. The child is much less likely to seek revenge.
5. The adult is seen as being able to handle problems without breaking a sweat.
6. The child learns through modeling to use empathy with others.
Keep your empathy short, simple, and repetitive
Most adults find it difficult to deliver empathy when a child has misbehaved. The more natural tendency is to show anger, threaten, lecture. Teachers generally find it much easier to pick one or two simple empathetic responses to repeat over and over with their students. When students hear these same statements repeated, they learn two things:
1. The teacher cares about them.
2. The teacher is not going to back down. No use in arguing!
A menu of empathic responses:
* This must really hurt.
* This is so sad.
* This is really hard.
* Bummer.
* I'm sorry you feel so bad.
* It must be hard to feel that way.
The power of non-verbal communication
Studies estimate that between 70% and 90% of what we communicate, we do without words through subtle nonverbal gestures.
When delivering empathetic responses, the delivery is as important as your actual words! AVOID sarcasm at all costs!
Peek Into the Natural Classroom:
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| Solitude, reflection, and silence replenish our energies and open our minds. |
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| Teachers and learners the world over understand that the stillness of solitude reaps vibrant benefits. "I don't retreat from the world to escape," Robert Frost said, "but to return stronger." |
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| Solitude is cocoon time. "It helps develop powers of concentration and allows thoughts to gestate and new realizations to surface." Emily Cousins |
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| While quiet reflection is an individual process, it also has the ability to strengthen community ties. People often return from quiet reflection or solitude with a renewed appreciation for the people around them. |
Thoughts to Ponder
"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive...."
From The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
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