#byrampride Pictures
With about half of our testing completed Fran and I wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all your efforts over the past week and a half. We have managed to navigate through three delayed openings and one school closing while keeping very close to our testing schedule, only because of the efforts of our amazing staff. Whenever a situation arose where we have needed to teachers to administer the test, provide coverage, or sub for another teacher you were there to help, and we are grateful. It is our first time through the PARCC and we have had very little difficulty with it, especially when we are compared to other districts, and that is because of the staff here at Byram. To show our appreciation Fran and I will be providing bagels and coffee for you in the conference room, we hope you come and grab some.
The number of students attending our before and after school programs have doubled since last year! The teachers involved in these programs have provided meaningful activities for the students that target specific areas of need, and the students are able to obtain feedback that allows them to grown and improve. We have received phone calls from parents to let us know about the huge improvement with this program from last year. Thank you to those teachers who have put in the hours before and after school to make this happen.
In language arts this week we saw a teacher teaching grammar at a station where there were laminated cards with grammar mistakes. Students had to identify the grammar mistakes with a partner and then correct them, a great way to review grammar skills with small groups.
In a social studies class the students presented information they researched on topics like The Great Compromise, or the Constitutional Convention using Google Slides. The students' slides had to contain pictures with very little text, this forced the students to try and make eye contact with their audience and be experts on the material they were presenting.
In a science class students were experimenting with dry-ice as they learned vocabulary words like sublimation. As the students observed what was taking place the teacher went to every group to make sure they understood what sublimation was. An interesting fact I learned was that if you press a spoon against dry-ice it makes a noise due to the vibration it causes.
A language arts student created her own board game about a book she has recently read using Google Draw. She had access to dice and was playing the game with some other students in class to show them how it worked.
Upcoming Events:
March 9-13 5th & 6th Grade PARCC
March 9 Faculty Meeting
March 13 Digital Learning Day
March 16-20 PARCC Make-ups
March 18 BOE Meeting 7:00PM
March 20 BIS Spotlight - 2:30
March 23 Faculty Meeting
March 30 Updated recommendations for next year's classes to the office
March 31 Parent Teacher Conferences
April 1 Parent Teacher Conferences
April 2 Parent Teacher Conferences
April 2 Parent Teacher Conferences
April 13 Begin SGO Final Assessments
April 30 Complete SGO Assessments
May 1st Names of students who are in danger of failing to the office
Nuts and Bolts:
PARCC Testing will conclude for grades 5-6 Monday, March 16, make-ups will begin on Tuesday March 17th.
Please make sure to share your unit plans with us when you being a unit of study.
This Friday is Digital Learning Day. Teachers around the country will be designing lessons for this day that focus on technology. At Byram, we have seen an amazing increase in the use of technology by our teachers and students since last year, and I am proud to work at a school where this type of learning does not happen just one day a year. I know that we will have testing on Friday, but if after testing you have a lesson that planned using technology please let me know, I would love to be able to come and take a picture to highlight what is taking place for #DLDay
Tech Tips
Digital Learning Resources - 30 Resources on how to incorporate digital learning in your classroom on a daily basis.
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