August 31: Why is it important?

So how are we doing?

This week, as I spent time in classrooms, I asked kids what they were learning, which they student could answer. What a celebration that is! EVERY student knew what they were learning to do. Then I asked students why it was important to learn it.
Here are some of the responses:

"Because I want to be a writer."

"I need to know how to count money, because I want to be rich."

"Because my teacher said to do it."

"Because I want to be smart."

"Because I need to make a poster."

"Ummm.....?"

" You need to stop asking me questions."

" I'm not sure."

" I'm sure there is a good reason because my teacher is very smart."

" Because I live on the earth and I should know about the place I live."

" Because I need to explore these math tools because I'll be using them all year."

"Why are you here?"

What do they say when you ask them?

 A few first graders share what they love about their teacher

(if this is blank, it's because of the Youtube filter)

Calendar: Two weeks at a glance

September 3 - 7:

Tuesday:
Josh's Crew to KMAC
Kenny's 5th grade Crew to Educo
*RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday:
* Leadership Team meeting 11:00
* PD: Math 1:30 p.m.

September 10-14:

Tuesday:

3rd Grade Crews to Camp Elim

4th Grade Discovery Crew to Educo

* Administration of CogAt to 1,2,4,5,6th graders 9 - 11 a.m.

Wednesday:

* All School Meeting

* Leadership Team Meeting

* Professional Development: Planning

Focus of classroom visits:

I'll continue to focus on whether the outcomes are evident. I'll be asking kids what they are learning and why it is important.

Have you considered dropping in on a classroom during a plan time? If you were dropping in and saw the following, what would you conclude?

Peek Into Classrooms...

Science Notebook Genre Study - gallery walk

Pam's lesson on Leonardo da Vinci and contour drawing.
Integration of art in science. 

Contour drawing

Tired 3rd grade kids returning home
from field work at Bent's Fort

2/3 Discovery students working like scientists

Go slow to go fast later...

Brittany used Twitter to find out what NASA could offer - 

Student's from Rebecca's Crew filming a news video to share what they learned

ZPD in action - more knowledgeable other leads the learner

Differentiated and supported learning -
breaking down the research and showing them how

IEP services delivered in the classroom supporting research

TCAP feedback for students -
What did kids say?

Featured Folk:

Zina Lech

Kitchen Manager- REMS

                  First of all, Hello and a big THANK YOU to the wonderful staff who have made me feel so welcome here at REMS! I am looking forward to working with all of the great staff here at REMS and getting to know our parents.

            I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I came to REMS from Academy Charter School here in Castle Rock where I have been managing their kitchen for 13 yrs. Before that, I was with Littleton Public Schools for 3 years.  I spent some time in the restaurant business before that. My story is rather interesting. I was born and raised in Capua, Italy. Capua is in the Italian region (sort of like a state) of Campania of which Naples (birthplace of Pizza!) is the capital. Capua today is a town of about 19,000 people but our town has a history that is indeed fascinating. The town dates back to around 500 BC when it was founded by the mysterious, pre-Roman, Etruscan civilization (my own family has Etruscan roots). Upon being conquered by Rome, it became one of the largest cities In the Roman Empire on the famous Roman highway known as Via Appia that went from Rome to Pompeii.  Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony (Augustus) further expanded the city which became known for the best gladiator school in the empire having none other than Spartacus as one of its “alumni”. I used to walk by the arena where the games took place almost every day.

     I am the middle child of a family of three and had two Italian brothers to watch over me!  I had a wonderful childhood spending a lot of time in the countryside and on the beach along the famous Amalfi Drive (many say it’s the most beautiful coast in the world) and the island of Capri with my family and friends. Later I traveled throughout Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence, etc.) where developed a passion for the culinary arts. My family and I regularly go back to Italy every few years to visit my family and our son John, studied at the University of Bologna as a college freshman. What an experience it was for John to study (and for us to visit) at the oldest university in the world (founded in 1088) which boasts alumni of the likes of Dante Alighieri, Nicholas Copernicus, Gugliemo Marconi, etc.  My husband of almost 30 years, Leo, is a spacecraft design engineer for Lockheed Martin and gets to work on all kinds of fascinating projects. We have one son, John. John is a 2004 graduate of Academy Charter School here in Castle Rock, a 2008 graduate of Regis Jesuit High School, and a 2012 graduate of the University of Denver where he majored in International Business and minored in Italian (what else?!).

My number one passion is the culinary arts, closely followed by gardening, traveling, and the outdoors. We “farm” an organic garden of almost 1/2 acre where after 20 years of trial and error, we have managed to grow almost every vegetable and fruit (including a small vineyard) despite living at almost 7,000 feet in elevation just west of Castle Rock along highway 105. I do a lot of canning and freezing of our produce that lasts us through most of the winter. We raise all kinds of poultry including chickens, turkeys, geese and have our own bee hives as well.  We pride ourselves with being as close to self-sufficient as possible. I love to entertain and Leo is in the process of building me an outdoor kitchen. The wood burning oven was completed last year and makes the best authentic pizzas and breads just like they did in Pompeii over 2,000 years ago!

I hope this helps us get a bit more acquainted. If we haven’t met yet, please stop by the kitchen and say Hello. I would love to get to know you! 

Our son John (and me!) at his college graduation - Denver University

Our chickens, geese and turkeys 

Bounty from the garden
 at almost 7,000 ft in elevation

Authentic Neopolitan pizza from our wood oven

Wood oven at night

Breads made in the outdoor oven

Our garden

Bee hives

The vineyard

Something to ponder...

Stole this off Brittany's Edmodo post:

Such a great link as we are thinking about outcomes. Read this and think about enduring understandings, essential questions and with outcomes in mind.

"You often hear people talk about how technology is so "engaging" for kids. But that misses the point. It's not the technology that's engaging, it's the opportunity to use technology to create something that is valued by the community and by yourself. Yes, a new device can be entertaining for a while, but when the novelty value wears off, what are you left with? Engagement is not a goal, it's an outcome of students (or anyone) doing meaningful work. Meaningful to themselves AND the community they are in. Meaningful because someone trusted them to do something good, and they shouldered the responsibility. This is not something you Do to kids or you GIVE kids, it's the outcome of this cycle of experiences."

Sylvia Martinez

Engagement Responsibility and Trust - Generation Yes Blog

Home work:

Take some time to visit the blogs of your colleagues. (Easily found on the right hand bar of Pondering of a Principal) http://renaissanceprincipal.blogspot.com/

Consider creating a post on Edmodo to share what strikes you as powerful about the different ways teachers use their blog to make learning visible to the audience. 

What tips would you share on Edmodo for how you've discovered ways to manage the time and tasks of creating your blog? How do you decide what to feature? Do you have some new ideas from looking at your colleagues blogs?

Quote:

"Turning ideas into action - it's a killer!"

Me

Have a great weekend!

Deborah