January 27, 2012

January 27, 2012

Joy...always present.

Some weeks just feel like nothing is going right. We all know I had one of those weeks! Ha! And yet, as I reflect (thank goodness we have been trained to do this on a regular basis!), there is so much more that went right. So much joy at Renaissance. While I didn't get many pictures taken, I did pop into classrooms and without exception, I saw joyful children; joyful teachers; laughter; smiles; sharing; enthusiasm and love. While there were problems to solve, good things happened for kids and for families.

 I stopped in at a store this week. In the store aisle a mother and her son were studying the merchandise on the shelves. The mother didn't really notice me. The little boy turned to look at me and his eyes got HUGE. After his initial shock, he said to me, "Wow! You really grew big!"

Life is good.

Calendar

Winter Festival this Friday!
Starts at 4:00 p.m.

January 30 - February 3rd:

Monday,: 

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

*Choir Performance

Friday

*  Evening Choir Performance 6:00 p.m.

February 6- February 10th:

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

* All School Meeting

* Discovery 2/3 to Snow Mountain Ranch

Thursday

* Discovery 4/5 to Keystone Science School

Stewardship

Kim, our kitchen manager, is actively supporting the mission and philosophy of Renaissance. Kim has arranged with Nutritional Services to order trays and trash bags that are a corn starch based product that is engineered to biodegrade when placed within a designated trash bag. Yeah Kim!!!

Kim has ordered some trays,that will arrive soon, that she will place in each of your mailboxes a few days prior to when she will begin to use them. This will allow you an opportunity to introduce them and educate our students about how these trays will support our environment. Perhaps this could be a Morning Meeting sharing? 

It's important that when the kids see them appear in the cafeteria that they understand why we are using them and that it is one more way that our school puts ideas into action.

Thanks Kim for your leadership in this area!

Love and Logic

Did you know that Restorative Practices is part of the Strategic Plan under the topic of World Class Education? This is the new focus of discipline for our district. Great news! Love and Logic is tightly tied to this philosophy and we are in alignment with the district strategic plan! I want to make you aware of the vocabulary 'Restorative Practices' and just a snippet of how it is defined.

Restorative practices is a new field of study that has the potential to positively influence human behavior and strengthen civil society around the world.

Education Restorative practices is the study of building social capital and achieving social discipline through participatory learning and decision-making.

Here is a link if you would like to know more:

http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/whatisrp.pdf

There are also courses being offered through staff development if you are interested and if you are looking for credit.

February 16th from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

February 22nd from 4:30  until 8:15 p.m.

Featured Folks

authored by Kathy Carter

Hi Renaissance Staff Crew,

I have really enjoyed reading and discovering so much about you all! Thank you for the glimpses into your lives beyond Renaissance School!

Facts and Info. About Me (Kathy Carter)

·      When I went into Goodwill on Sunday, the young man informed me that I qualify for the senior discount. At first I was elated (an even better bargain!). Then I was deflated (must REALLY be looking old!!!).

·      The children know that my hair has SILVER highlights (and never to use that nasty word grey).

·      Working with children is one of the very best ways to stay young (even if you don’t look it). They are so full of life, vitality, and the joy of being! My present mantra is, “What will make my heart sing today?” It is always about loving the children. When I love them they seem to grow taller and do so much more!

·      I grew up in working class Liverpool, England.

·      The English professor at college offered to give me elocution lessons so I would lose my accent (I declined).

·      Class sizes in Liverpool were approximately forty students per elementary classroom in the late 70s when I taught there.

·      For anyone who knows who the Beatles were: I once saw them pass by sitting on the top of a double decker bus and waving to people.

·      Fond childhood memories include Sunday morning outings to the Pier Head in Liverpool. My family always rode the ferry across the Mersey River and then we fed peanuts and stale bread to the pigeons.

·      On the first day of my first teaching position (at a residential school for severely handicapped children) the assistant principal led me to my classroom of eight children with a range of severe needs. Trevor showed me the students, and when I asked what to do he replied, “Anything you like. You can’t go wrong.” He closed the door and a strong student in a wheelchair pulled me onto his lap. I sat there trying to figure out what to do. Mark finally laughed, let go, and I began my career. I LOVED that job!!!!

·      My parents, brother, and two sisters all live in Europe.

·      I am the proud mom of three amazing young adults: David, Michelle, and Sandra. Of course, I could write volumes about them but I will just say that I am privileged to be their mom. They are amazing young people who have huge hearts. Spending time with my kids is one of the main highlights of my life!

·      The other highlight is being with my husband, Larry. We married last July (we eloped to Taos – just the two of us). Is it eloping when you are as old as I am? Larry is an artist who worked in graphic art for many years and is now focused on fine art (oil painting).

I live in Parker during the week and migrate to Larry’s home in Denver every Friday evening. We laugh at everything. What a gift to enjoy being together so much!

·      My dream job: teaching kindergarten. I feel like I won the jackpot every day!

·      I have taught in a range of schools and can honestly say that Renaissance is the most amazing, wonderful place to work. It even gets better every year! (I joined Renaissance in 1998).

·      Favorite book right now: Death is of Vital Importance, by Elizabeth Kubler Ross.

·      Favorite punctuation: exclamation point (kindergarten teachers LOVE to use them)

Thanks for reading!

                             Kathy

Peek Into the Life of Our School

Piggie and Elephant Skit

I warned you that I didn't have many photos!

What a blessing that I had the opportunity to view and photograph two of our special ladies creating such joy for kids!

I left smiling and healed!

WORDS TO COMFORT:

(Particularly helpful to me this week...)

YOU CAN SPEND MINUTES, HOURS,
DAYS, WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS
OVER-ANALYZING A SITUATION
TRYING TO PUT THE PIECES
TOGETHER, JUSTIFYING WHAT
COULD'VE, WOULD'VE HAPPENED
...OR YOU CAN JUST LEAVE
THE PIECES ON THE FLOOR AND
MOVE ON



AND...OR

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
DEBORAH

January 20, 2012

January 20, 2012


Feedback

This week I've been thinking a lot about maintaing momentum. I've gotten old lists out to see how far I've come and what still needs my attention. I've thought about the goals I've set for myself. 

One of the goals I set was to seek to make feedback to teachers meaningful. I feel like I'm still floundering around on that one.  I'm going to take Mary Sue's suggestion and use our CITE tool as a platform for feedback during my classroom visits over the coming weeks.

I see evidence daily on Standard 2: 

 Teachers establish a respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students.

Element A:  Consistent in fostering a learning environment in which each student has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults/peers. Descriptors:  Facilitate students’ taking responsibility for own learning by thinking critically, self-evaluating reflection, learning applied to real life situations-inquiry and exploration

Element B:  Demonstrate a commitment to and respect for diversity in the school community and in the world. Descriptors:  Lessons counteract stereotypes, incorporate histories and contributions of cultures, recognizes and accepts the influences of all differences on a student’s development and personality.

Element C:  Value students as individuals. Descriptors:  High expectations for students of all backgrounds.  Communicates this vision to students.  Values contributions, builds positive relationships, student voices valued, mutual respect.  Positive learning culture for success.

Element D:  Adapt their teaching for the benefit of all students, including those with special needs across a range of ability levels. Descriptors:  Collaborates with support specialists to develop and use appropriate strategies/resources to meet different learning needs (Sped, ESL, GT).  Analyzes data to inform instruction and implement different learning plans and legal requirements.

Element E:  Work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students. Descriptors:  Communicates in a regular and timely manner to empower parents, actively engages volunteers and paras in meaningful support activities.

 Edmodo is one tool for accomplishing Standard 4: Reflect On Their Practice.

Element A:  Demonstrate they analyze student learning. Descriptors:  Works collaboratively with colleagues to collect and analyze student performance data using multiple measures of  assessment.  Continuously monitors learning goals to adapt instruction to individual student needs and developmental levels.

Element B:  Link professional growth to their professional goals. Descriptors:  Reflects on teaching practices and participates in high-quality professional development, including 21st Century skills (Strategic Plan).

Element C:  Function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment. Descriptors:  Collaboratres with colleagues to investigate and consider new ideas to improve teaching and learning.  Respectful, positive, and objective attitude in workplace.

I will strive to provide feedback on Standard 3, with an emphasis on Element C. I have featured some photos of what I observed just this week across the school. However, as I do classroom visits the feedback may center around any of the elements within Standard 3. I hope this will be helpful feedback!

Standard 3:  Teachers facilitate learning for their students.
Element A:  Demonstrate knowledge of current developmental science, the ways in which learning takes place, and the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students. Descriptors:  Designs and implmements developmentally appropriate learning experiences with rigor and relevance.  Analyzes assessment results to make instructional decisions for groups and individuals.
Element B:  Teachers plan learning experiences appropriate for their students. Descriptors:  Integrates 21st century resources and strategies to adapt to the learning needs, Engage students as partners in the learning process with parent and student feedback to make curriculum responsive, relevant, and accessible to all learners, monitors and modifies instructional plans.
Element C:  Teachers use a variety of instructional methods to meet the academic needs of their students. Descriptors:  Different strategies, differentiated instruction to close gaps.
Element D:  Thoughtfully integrate and utilize technology into their instruction to maximize student learning. Descriptors:  Integrates learning opportunities with content, 21st century skills, and work processes to reflect an innovative global and digital society.  Multiple learning opportunities for students to use tech tools and virtual environments to learn content, think critically, solve problems, discern reliability, find and use information to communicate, innovate, and collaborate.

Calendar

January 23 - 27th:

Monday,: 

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

*All School Meeting

Saturday:

* WINTER FESTIVAL!!

January 30 - February 3rd:

Monday,: 

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday

*Choir Performance

Friday

*  Evening Choir Performance 6:00 p.m.

Edmodo

Thank you for your thoughtful comments on Edmodo. I see 'echoes' across the postings. I'm excited about what we are learning and those things that are being uncovered. Continue to make posts from your PLC meetings and also schedule some time each week to read what others are posting. I see that some of us are posting questions, seeking suggestions or guidance, and we can collaborate using this tool. Remember to post those things that you are celebrating!!!

More Collaboration

How exciting to visit a classroom and see other teachers making visits! I want to encourage you to do this. We have such amazing talent and expertise. If you will network with me, I would consider it a treat to take your class while you visit another classroom within our school.

Love and Logic


Giving Choices

Featured Folk

authored by Brittany Sundgreen

Dear REMS family,

As I sat down to write this, I wasn’t sure what to share. So many of you have shared different aspects of yourselves in such creative ways! In thinking of how best to introduce myself, I thought it made the most sense to talk about my journey to Renaissance and teaching.

Like many of you, I am also a Colorado native. I grew up in Highlands Ranch and Littleton and actually spent most of my elementary school years at a school in Douglas County. It was at that school, in my second grade class, that I first knew I wanted to teach. Over the years, I toyed with other career options, but I always ended up coming back around to thinking about teaching.

                  I went to college on the East coast- Wellesley College, a women’s college outside of Boston. I majored in Studio Art and focused on printmaking, photography, and book arts—things that are still near and dear to my heart. However, they all require a certain amount of equipment and time, which is in short supply these days. My goal is to eventually pull my film SLR back out and spend some time up at the Denver Dark Room developing and printing my own film. During college, I almost majored in Linguistics. I switched to Studio Art because it turns out I don’t really enjoy statistics, and I love to study and create art.

                  After college, I moved to New York City to (theoretically) pursue a career in the arts. As a means to that end, I took a nannying job on the Upper East Side. I have many stories about that experience, but I think it sums it up best to say that I moved back to Colorado about 8 months after I began that job. It truly was like The Nanny Diaries… and the arts community is cutthroat in New York. I wasn’t cut out for that, and I missed my family and the mountains. My mind drifted back to teaching—I couldn’t think of anything else I truly wanted to do.

                  I moved back to Colorado at the beginning of 2010 and started applying to teaching programs. I was able to live with my grandmother in Littleton and applied to everything I could find. I eventually settled on one program that was on my short list- the Stanley British Primary School Teacher Preparation Program. It’s a very unique program that puts interns in schools for a full year- from the classroom set-up to the cleaning and packing up at the end of the year. I was supported by 6-hour seminars every Thursday, and I also elected to get credit toward a Master’s degree in educational psychology at UCD. I did my internship at a gifted & talented magnet school in Denver Public Schools- Polaris at Ebert Elementary. It was a great, supportive environment that prepared me very well to eventually end up at Renaissance.

                  Beginning my teaching career at Renaissance has been amazing. I heard about Renaissance through a personal connection. Rebecca’s daughter, Kaitlin, is one of my oldest and closest friends. When Rebecca heard through Kaitlin that I was applying for teaching jobs, she jumped at the chance to tell me about Renaissance. Before I’d even set foot into the school, I had heard amazing things about the environment, the staff, and the students. I immediately applied and am so glad to have ended up here. I honestly can’t think of a better, more supportive place to have begun my teaching career.

                  A few more talking points:

-I love to bake and cook (although you all probably know this by now…).

My birthday cake- I baked and decorated it myself and was thrilled about that.

                  -I have a cat named Tonks (who lives up to her name).

                  -I have done more international travel than travel within the U.S. – I have been to 15 different countries and want to keep traveling!

                  -I was president of my (tiny) high school bowling club- obviously, skill did not matter in that position.

                  -I was president of Glee Club in college, and I still love to sing.

-I’m continuing work on my Master’s degree this spring (hopefully! I’m on a wait list for an online class…).

For Christmas this year, my mom made me a beautiful quilt from all of my old Wellesley t-shirts. Lots of Wellesley pride here!

Thank you for all your support—this year has been amazing so far and I’m so lucky to be a part of such a supportive group of like-minded people.

Love,

Brittany

Peek Into the Life of Our School

Designing instruction that builds strong conceptual understandings.

Active and engaged learning.

Showing students how.

You never see a teacher at Renaissance camped at their desk. Always up and moving, checking on understandings and guiding students.

Giving students strategies to problem solve.

Many ways to build concentration,  increase skills and activate both sides of the brain.
Studies have shown that cup stacking can improve the reading and writing ability for some struggling learners.

Focused-mini lesson.

Giving students the extra support to promote independence.
Juggling the high needs within the whole classroom.

Encouraging self-expression.

Allowing students to create the learning environment that works for them.

Facilitating book clubs.

Using digital tools to respond in reading.

Conferring with writer's within a genre study.

The challenges of guided groups in EDM.

The power of one-on-one support.

The power of guided groups!

Andrea joined us for a few days this week!
So glad she is on the mend from her surgery.
So glad that Krys's granddaughter is recovering from her heart surgery!

Brrr!
Our indispensable educational assistants.

A carousel for learning within a case study. Students in Mary Sue's Crew engaged in the social construction of knowledge.

Mary Sue facilitates the carousel.

Digital tools...everywhere!

Food for thought:

Have a great weekend!
Deborah

January 13

January 13, 2012

I had the pleasure of spending some quality time in Neil's fourth grade classroom today. Out of the corner of my eye a sweeping black cape caught my attention. I took another look. 

Sure enough, a student sat with a black cape cascading down the back of his chair. It was even more impressive when he was up and moving around the room. And yet, I seemed to be the only one really noticing. 

My attention then shifted to another student wearing a very dapper hat, and yet another with sparkles and sequins. I started smiling. I started cheering inside. How totally perfect, right and wonderful that young children at Renaissance are free to explore and express their budding self-expressions. 

Calendar

January 16 - 20th:

Monday, January 16th: 

*No School 

Tuesday

* Potential Discovery Parent Orientation Meeting 9:30 a.m.

Friday:

*Teacher Professional Development day (no students)

              Job Alike Day

*See details below for plans
*FAC at Mary Sue's house :)

January 23 - 27th:

Monday,: 

* New Family Orientation 8:00 a.m.

Tuesday
* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.


Wednesday
*All School Meeting

Saturday:

* WINTER FESTIVAL!!

Professional Development Plans for Friday, January 20th:

8:40 a.m.              "ALL I NEED" (whole group in library)

* Some of us will be at Job Alike Professional Development

10:00 a.m.            Leadership Team Meeting

*  All are welcome to participate. The focus of this meeting will be to make some decisions regarding math for the next year.  We will meet in the library.

11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.        

 Expedition Planning/ Genre Writing Studies/ Halogen goal journal update/assessment/other

4:00 p.m.              Sashay to your car...on your way to Mary Sue's or home

Love and Logic
Teacher-isms

Wise Words for Teachers

Great teachers are always asking themselves,

"If the tables were turned, how would I want 

to be treated by my teacher?"






Featured Folk
authored by Andrea Bollman

My name is P. Andrea Bollman.  Unless you look at my birth certificate, then my name is Philippa Lisa Wallenborn.  So who am I?

My mom (along with all my family in Germany and several of my mom’s friends here in the States) still calls me Philippa; or Püppi for short.  (Püppschen means “little doll” in German and that was my nickname as a child.)  My mom thought I was going to be a boy.  She already had a boy, my brother Julian, and, though she wanted a daughter, she couldn’t imagine having one since all she knew up to the point of my arrival was “boy”.  She was going to name me Philip.  (Now, I have a very good friend named Philip and nothing against him or the name in general but I’m glad I was not a boy and given that name…to me it’s a very dull name.)  When friends asked my mom what would the name be if I was a girl, she decided to turn Philip into a girl’s name and made up Philippa.  It wasn’t until years later when my parents met friends in England whose wife’s name was Philippa, did my mom realize she didn’t make up the name.  It is a very prominent name in England; there were several queens and princesses with the name and are a couple well known authors.  A few friends told my mom that Philippa was a cruel name for a girl so she gave me the middle name Lisa, which I used from the age I can remember through the 6^th grade.  (Every once in a while my best friend, who I’ve known since I was five, will “slip” and call me Lisa.)

Andrea came from my father.  When I was in third grade I got the name through his spiritual belief, Subud.  At the time he took me to school and announced that my name was now Andrea.  It didn’t stick until I was in 6^th grade.  I always liked the name and it means “Womanly” which suited me just fine since I was always told by adults throughout my life that I was very mature for my age and my dream was always to be a mother so I thought it a fitting name.  (My brother never used his Subud name, which was Leslie; he thought it too feminine.)

I almost went back to using Lisa in college but, at the time, I didn’t think I looked like a Lisa.  (I still really don’t see “Lisa” when I look in the mirror.)  Why not stick with Philippa?  Can you pronounce it?  How did you say it?  (You probably didn’t even try to say it; you just looked at it and skipped right on by.)  That’s why.  I don’t even really like the way it sounds when I say.  But I love it in the German accent.  So I will always be Philippa to my family.  And I use it for my writing; as a pen name. 

Yes, I want to be a writer.  I’ve had a couple poems published and I wrote a few sports columns for the Metropolitan Newspaper when I was in college.  My dream is to write novels.  I’m jotting down tid-bits for a kid’s chapter book; I have several titles and ideas for an adult romance series; and, over the holiday break, I finally completed the rough, rough draft of my children’s picture book I’ve been toying with for the past few years.  (I hope to read the rough draft to some of your crews and get some much-needed feedback.)

I grew up hippie; literally.  Libre is a hippie community in southern Colorado, west of Walsenburg and north of Gardner (if you have a good map, you can find Gardner), just under the south side of Greenhorn Mountain (Colorado City and Rye are on the north side of Greenhorn Mountain).  Libre was founded by my now step-father, Dean, (well, not officially my step-father since my mom and he never married but they have been together for 22 years now) and a few other artists who believed in the 1960 hippie movement but saw that true communes and communal homes were not working.  They liked the “community” aspect but saw the need for families to have individual houses, much like the Native American way of life.  Each person or family who becomes a member of Libre must build their own house.  The building process is an integral part of learning about yourself, working with the community, and building a relationship with nature.  All homes in Libre had to be built where no one else could see it; this made sure everyone had ample “space”.  Individuals do not own the land nor their house; Libre and all it’s properties are communally owned.  Growing up, all holidays were celebrated as a community.  Many meals were pot-lucks shared at a different house each month.  In the early years, we had one or two vehicles to share and trips into town for groceries were done communally.  The school bus refused to come up our road so our parents had to take turns car-pooling us to the bus stop five miles down the road.  By the time I was in 7^th grade, the bus came up to the last intersection, about a mile away from Libre.  Many times the car-pool parent “forgot” to pick us up and we had to walk home.  When I started high school, which was in Walsenburg, we had to drive the eleven miles to the paved highway and meet the bus.  By my sophomore year we convinced the school board to give us a small bus and one of my Libre neighbors was our first bus driver, picking up all the kids in the surrounding “communes” and driving us into Walsenburg.  We caught the bus at 6:30am.  (When I got to college, I vowed never to take a class that started before 8:30am.)

I studied Behavioral Science and Elementary Education.  My plan was to be a teacher or a psychologist.  Sometimes plans don’t pan out…  I started my education at CU Denver (my mom thought I needed to attend a “name brand” university but Metro State had the better Education program so I switched.)  After graduating Metropolitan State College in 1995, I moved to Dallas for a couple years.  My now husband, Steve, had been moved to Texas for work a year before I graduated.  (The story of our courtship is a whole ‘nother story…I’ll save it for next time.)  We moved back to Colorado in 1997 and got married in 1998.  We married in my step-father’s “orchard”, next to the outhouse, overlooking the mountains with eagles flying overhead.  We celebrated with a big pot-luck in Dean’s dome and dancing in the dirt to our local rock-n-roll band by the creek bed.  My white wedding dress, hand stitched by my mother-in-law with silver leaves cut from my mom’s mini-skirt wedding dress, turned shades of dark to light brown from the hem to the waist.  (The dry cleaner asked, “What did you do for your wedding?” And it took him three cleanings to get the “Libre mud”, as we call it, out.)

I have two wonderful, beautiful, talented, vibrant, loving kids.  Well, you knew that.  Sibria and Miles are truly gems in my heart. I thank each and every one of you for helping in their growth.  I am blessed beyond words to share Renaissance in our lives.  Deborah and Renaissance remind me a lot of my childhood principal and school, Julia Marchant and Gardner School. (Some of the Gardner teachers who came to tour REMS were MY elementary teachers!)  Gardner school was truly the “step child” for the Huerfano School District and they have tried for decades to close the school.  Julia breathed life into the school like no other.  I owe a great deal to her and her staff, as I do to Deborah and you.

Before you think you need an extra weekend just to read this “blurb” about me, I’ll part with one thing you may not know.  Aside from being a nanny to pay my way through college, I was a Hooters waitress.  OK, it’s out there.  My cheeks are red and I think I may hit the “delete” key…or maybe I’ll just explain that, through my best friend and another long-time childhood friend who both worked at Hooters, I got the job.  I was never very self-confident, especially when it came to my body so it was a huge ego boost when I was hired.  I suffered through the torcher of nylons, bought push-up bras and wore make up.  I think it was the one time in my life when I felt sexy.  No, I didn’t make it into any calendar, those spots are held for the Florida girls.   I did receive a proposition from a major league baseball pitcher but he was honest enough to tell me that, though he would buy me a house in Germany so I could be near my family anytime and I could pick any state in the United States to have a home, he would share his bed with others while on the road and that did not appeal to me.  Plus, he wasn’t very cute.  Money can’t buy happiness.  (See, even a place like Hooters teaches you something.)

That’s just a little bit about the woman behind the desk and “in front of” THE woman of Renaissance. 

Peek Into the Life of Our School

So, do you think Annabel is feeling the love?

I haven't seen Hanni in this  Diva outfit lately?

No, it isn't Sarah...but it's Sarah's great idea!
She invited parents to come and read their favorite holiday stories to her second graders throughout the day on our last Friday together before break. What an awesome idea for including parents and making the day meaningful and layered in relationship building!!!

Hope everyone had a chance to see Sandra when she was visiting!

Students at Renaissance are free to be themselves!

Do you think this young man looks like Eric?
Hint....(he should)

Guided Reading in kindergarten.
It may only be January, but it's a real celebration to see how far Jody has brought her readers!

Let the cup-stacking competitions begin!
Absolutely awesome activity for engaging both sides of the brain.
You might want to consider a cup-stacking 'station' in your classroom for that very reason.

Hard to believe Michelle can get up and down from the floor!
If you want to see some math differentiation, visit with Michelle!

You can barely see Cheryl, but she's there at the top!
She's getting fourth grader input into their Colorado musical performance.

Neil, Lindsey and Noreene
The Three Amigos?
Hey...did you guys call each other and decide what to wear?

Kathy excited about teaching the formation of the letter 'y'.
(Talk about finding the joy in small things!)

Lauren and Brittany 'gearing up' for Field Work

Noreene, the Butterfly Whisperer...who knew?
(Neil, Lindsey and Noreene went to the Butterfly Pavilion in preparation of some field work. When the butterflies landed, one landed right on Noreene's face! Thanks for sharing the photo Neil.)

Food for thought...
and fun!

An extended weekend....enjoy!!!!
See you Tuesday :)

Deborah

January 6, 2012

January 6, 2012

How fortunate we all are to have had several weeks to spend some time with family and friends, to relax and recharge. Here we are at the beginning of a New Year with five months ahead of us to make a difference in the lives of our students and one another. We have the opportunity to grow and learn from one another. 

We started the year growing our culture and community into a positive, caring and purposeful community of learners. Let's continue to build that momentum and to celebrate each moment. Be reminded to focus on the Big Rocks, live in the moment and appreciate one another. Let's all be committed to being great leaders by infusing quality, character, courage, enthusiasm and integrity into our workplace and into our lives.

Calendar

January 9 - 13th:

(A normal, full week!)

Tuesday

* RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday:

* All School Meeting 9:00 A.M.  *Includes Spelling Bee

* PD:  Team/Individual Planning

****3:30 PM: HR/PK-12 Education Team from district will meet with teachers in the library to ask how things are going.

PK-12 Education will be partnering with Human Resources beginning the first week of January through mid February 2012. They would like the opportunity to speak with staff (certified and classified) at our site. This will allow them to connect with staff while gathering feedback and completing a temperature check with the following four questions: 

1. How is it going?
2. What is working well?
3. What is not working so well?
4. If you were in charge, what would you do differently?

They will travel in groups of two. One person will facilitate the get together and the other one will scribe the feedback onto chart paper.

January 16 - 20th:

Monday, January 16th: 

*No School 

Tuesday

* Potential Discovery Parent Orientation Meeting 9:30 a.m.

Friday:

*Teacher Professional Development day (no students)

              Job Alike Day

Winter Voyages

A new and much needed addition to voyage planning:

Each teacher needs to find a 'voyage buddy' in a different grade level. The purpose of the 'voyage buddy' is to be your back up in the event that you fall ill or have some unexpected complication that prevents you from attending your voyage or completing it. Your 'buddy' can be anyone on staff, but must be a staff member.

The 'buddy' then needs to have comprehensive lesson plans for a substitute here at school should they be called away at the last minute.

THIS IS CRITICAL. We simply do not have flexibility to cover teachers when they are unable to do their voyage. Please inform Julie about who is your 'voyage buddy'.  I recognize that this will take a chunk of time to plan for lesson plans...please think of using your emergency plans and embellishing them so they would cover the duration of the time your would be gone covering another teacher.

THANK YOU!!!

Chaperones:

The ratio for chaperones is one adult volunteer for every 5 students. If you have a situation where you believe you need to increase the ratio, then plan to do so. I would recommend you take yourself out of the count and use yourself only when you cannot secure enough chaperones. 

I want to remind you of the email I sent out a while back about checking with the previous grade teachers and ensuring that we are giving parents equitable opportunities to chaperone. See me if you have questions.

Budget
Nothing to tell you yet  :)
Stay focused on the present moment.


Open Enrollment

The open enrollment closed Thursday at 5:00 p.m. At that time there were only 5 children (!) from Renaissance that had open enrolled to a different school. We were aware of those students and the reasons behind those decisions.

As Lori and I looked over applicants in the lottery it is clear that we have room for very few new students. It is a celebration that our community is solid and appreciative of the education that is offered at Renaissance. We have strong partnerships with our families. And yet, I feel a sadness for all the children and families in the lottery who will be disappointed that they will not be able to join our community. I can't imagine a better school than Renaissance. Together, through our collaboration and  commitment to our mission, we have created a magical place for kids to grow and learn.

As always, while we presently have so very few openings, we will have some families whose lives will change and a few openings will present themselves over the spring and summer.

 How joyous that the learning experience we offer is one that so many families want for their children. This is a testimony to your hard work and dedication to offer the rigorous, relevant and purposeful learning experiences for students at Renaissance.

Love and Logic

We believe that kids are best prepared for the real world when we allow them to do as much thinking as possible. It's good practice for the real world, and it keeps the monkey off of our backs most of the time.

Here's the problem. Do you know kids who like to keep adults doing all of the thinking? Do you know kids who are good at tricking us into doing so?

How do we avoid falling into this trap? One strategy involves using plenty of questions!

The more questions we ask,

the better thinkers our kids will become.

People who understand Love and Logic also understand that the human brain seeks closure. When we use plenty of questions, children's brains are so busy searching for closure that they have less energy left over for power-struggles.

The more questions we ask,

the fewer power-struggles we will have.

Kids grow the healthiest and strongest brains when they're fortunate to spend time around adults who say things like:

• "I don't know. What do you think?"

• "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

• "How do you think that's going to work out for you?"

• "Would you like to hear what some other kids have tried?"

• "Do you think that's going to work out well or ________?"

• "What do you think you are going to do?"

• "Which one of these is the best solution to your problem?"

• "Do you have enough money to pay for any possible damage?"

• "Is that a wise decision?"

Featured Folks

Authored By: Sarah Vasilauskas

I am a Colorado Native and grew up in Cortez, CO.  For those of you who are not familiar with where that is, it’s in the Four Corners area about 20 miles South of Durango, CO.  My educational journey started in Missouri where I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.  After graduating, I landed a position in Kansas City where I taught first grade for two years at Blue Hills Elementary.  Even though I enjoyed teaching in Missouri I knew that I wanted to move back to Colorado closer to my family.  I started applying for schools knowing that it might be difficult to find a job at that time so I did not expect anything to happen so fast.  After several phone interviews I had the opportunity to interview with Deborah and Noreene.  I remember having to move my classroom to the other end of the hall in my old building that summer so I could teach summer school.  While moving my classroom, Deborah called me within the next hour and offered me the job.  I had not even seen Renaissance or met anyone, but I knew this was going to be my “new home” and I was going to love it.  That summer I ended up trekking it up the mountain in my rental car all the way up Poudre River to meet some of the staff. I was really in the middle of nowhere up there, so if I didn’t like it, there was no turning back! I immediately knew the rapport of the school was amazing.  We got to make canvases, walking sticks, work on our mission, climb up an enormous wall, and jump off.  We were tied in, but I remember being up there and my feet were shaking because the board I had to stand on was only about 3 inches wide.  If I didn’t jump my partner “Laurie Menard” would not be very fond of me. Ha! Needless to say, I jumped and taking that leap of faith was the best decision I have ever made.  I am home, I am happy, and Renaissance has challenged me to reach outside my comfort zone and strive to be the best teacher I can be.  For that reason and many more I am very grateful.

Currently, I am on my 7^th year of teaching. My husband Nic and I just recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary in June of 2011 in Seattle, Washington, Victoria, BC, and Vancouver, Canada. We bought our first house in January of last year and live in Highlands Ranch, CO. I met Nic out on the town at Elisha’s bachelorette party.  If you want to know the crazy story, you will have to come find me.  Thanks to Hanni Gilbert and her lipstick I now can call Nic my husband, and he is quite a good catch! In my spare time I enjoy traveling, playing tennis, running, cooking, attending sports events, going to concerts, hiking, climbing 14ers, reading, and spending time with my family. Even though I do not have children of my own yet, my twin nephews Trey and Ryder who turn 4 in January, and my nephew Cole who is in 1^st grade keep me entertained. They are the three lights of my life and I enjoy being their aunt. Nic and I also have a Flat Coated Retriever puppy named Layla. We just adore her!

Nic and my nephew Cole in Estes

Nic and I on our wedding day with our nephews

Me at the top of my first 14ner I climbed this summer!

Our puppy Layla

Nic and I in Victoria, BC for our first wedding anniversary. We were outside the Empress where we had our first  High Tea.

My nephew Cole playing soccer

Trey & Ryder (my twin nephews)

Some things you might not know about me are:

·      I have traveled outside of the U.S. to Canada, Mexico, Paris, Wales, and London. Nic and I love to travel and our next stop is New York City and Napa this summer before we start a family.

·      I was #1 singles on my high school tennis team and played against a girl who was trained by Martina Hingis. 

·      I am terrified of the dark.

·      I enjoy playing every sport you could think of and am highly competitive while doing it. 

·      My dream is to one day be on the Amazing Race.  Who will join me?

·      I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I was in 2^nd grade.

·      I was a huge Tomboy growing up. I would even spit on the street like the boys while playing tag football because I thought it was “cool.”

·      I like to sing, even though I’m not good at it, I make up my own songs as I go and they don’t have any rhythm or rime.  They just are well….actually….. pretty obnoxious.

·      I cannot park a car to save my life! Don’t ever look at my parking job, because I am always way over on one side of the line, or completely over in another parking space.

·      I do not like the water, due to almost drowning when I was little. Once again, I thought I could swim, took my floaties off and sunk to the bottom. My Dad had to jump into the hotel pool and save me. He tried to use the big stick with a net on the end that you clean the pool with…..Yeah it didn’t work so well and I was still underwater. After he finally got me out I was coughing up water for hours.  It was quite traumatic.

·      My last name is not only long, but also Lithuanian. Our poor children! 

I leave you with some of my favorite quotes about teaching:

“To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun?” -Katharine Graham

"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it!"-Author Unknown

“The work will teach you how.” Noreene-Thibault-Chen 

Happy New Year to my Renaissance Family!

Love,

Sarah Vasilauskas

"In a way, winter is the real spring,
the time when the inner things happen,
the resurgence of nature."
- Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist

Happy Weekend!
Deborah