Great Things Noticed:
Coding Club - In 5th grade students are coming in to learn how to code on computers. Now Mr. Cap has gone further to understand the inner workings of a computer. Mr. Cap has had them take a part computers to identify the different components and most of the students didn't believe those, big boxes could be computers. By making the learning tangible and turning something that is abstract to most students into something they can see and touch, this is something the students will retain for a long time. AWESOME!Shakespeare - Most of the time when students hear we are learning about Shakespeare there are moans from the class and and lots of resistance to reading it. Mrs. Stevens & Mrs. Loredo have managed to create an environment in their class where the students have said, "They really enjoy the plot," and "It kind of reminds me of a soap opera or something, and I like it." Like it??!?!?! This is Shakespeare we are talking about here people, I didn't learn to like it until college. Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Loredo have been able to win the students over because of the scaffolding they provide the students. To begin with the book has the old english text, but on the next page is a modern translation. The teachers have targeted stopping points for all students to turn and talk with partners to identify the motives of different characters. WOW!
Twitter Chat - Mr. Hamer's and Mrs. Spring's classes were able to join a student-led conversation on books students love to read. Our students shared their favorite books, and characters while learning some new ones they would like to start reading. One of the questions even asked to create your own book award and students from our school have suggested "The Rammy" which I am a huge fan of. Get ready for the design contest...The Rammy is coming. Mr. Hamer and Mrs. Spring, congrats on STRETCHING yourself and moving out of your comfort zone.
Timing is a huge component of successful lesson design. We have to think carefully about how long different activities will take our students and plan accordingly to have that balance between direct instruction and independent student work. Mrs. Phillips language arts class did a wonderful job with this during the week. She had every minute scheduled for the students on the SMART Board from the minute they walked in. Students knew exactly what was expected of them, they had varied experience throughout the class, and students were even allowed some choice during the class period. WELL DONE!
Up Coming Events
January 15 BIS Spotlight – 9:00 a.m.
January 18 Staff In-Service Day – SCHOOL CLOSED
Staff Health Screening, 8 am – 1 pm, Lakes Cafeteria
Go to: http://byram.myscreeningappointment.com/
January 19 Genesis Window open for MP 2 Grade Reporting
January 20 SGO Meetings
January 21 SGO Meetings
January 22 SGO Meetings
January 25 8th Grade CAP Program
Dept. Meetings: Special Ed & Specials
January 26 End of 2nd MP
8th Grade CAP Program
January 27 8th Grade CAP Program
Board Meeting, 7 pm
January 28 Genesis Window closes at 4:00 p.m.
January 29 Yearbook photographs for sports teams & activity clubs
Student of the Month Pizza Party
Nuts and Bolts
In-Service - After speaking with many teachers the two topics that I hear the most concern about are the Research Simulation Task and Designing Units for ID. The Research Simulation task is something that I know is knew to everyone and we will be spending time becoming more familiar with it on Monday. For the most part the ID units I have seen in action have the students interested, engaged, and excited, but they are difficult to plan because it is difficult to have every discipline present that you need. On Monday we will have some time to learn about best-practices for our ID units and work to improve or plan an upcoming unit. Specialists, this is where your expertise will in demand. Once we have reviewed best practices please see me if you are not a part of a team and I will set you up with one to work with. I am excited to be able to provide time for everyone in areas you have expressed an interest.After speaking with several teachers and parents, we will be leaving Parent-Portal open for parents to view grades. I know in the past it has been closed to parents for about a week to allow teachers to input grades, however it is creating a feeling among some parents that we are doing something secretive with the grades at the end of the marking period. In an effort to be more transparent we will leave it open to the parents.
2016 NJAMLE Annual Conference Registration - There is still room left!!! Email me to learn more. The New Jersey Association of Middle Level Education invites educational professionals in all content areas and specialties to its conference centered on the theme, Get Fired up for Middle Level Education! The conference will be held Friday, March 11, 2016 at Kean University, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. Any questions, please contact ctorre@njamle.org
Then end of the marking period is on the 26th and grades will be finalized on the 28th.Girls' TNT Game is on January 29th. I will need a refresher on what TNT stands for, but it would be great if we could show support for the Girl's Team and the teachers who have volunteered to play, by coming to the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment