Mark Your Calendars for the THIRD ANNUAL Make and Take Holiday Extravaganza!

 On Monday,  December 9th 
the PSI teacher lunchroom will become....

A Holiday Decor Workshop!

This will be the 3rd Annual Edition of this fun event!

Time: Dec. 9-3:30-5:00

Location: PSI Teacher Lunchroom

Cost: $10 (your contribution will secure your spot at the table)

If a picture is worth a 1000 words....these photos will let you see the fun we have had in the past!!

 

As you can see.....this is a gender neutral event!!!  Without this Freddie would have to figure out something else to give his Mom for Christmas!!!

 

Your $10 gets you all the greens you will need.....wire,,,,,ribbon.....floral foam and other fun accents for your creations!

You should bring your own containers.....a quick trip to the new Good Will might be in order!  If you want a candle or any other "special" ornaments....bring those and you will get LOTS of good advice for incorporating them into something wonderful!

 

Maybe it is a door swag that you need.....a few greens, a bow.....how easy is that?

RSVP with your contribution before December 4th! 

 I need to know how much STUFF to Buy!!!!

Have A Wonderful Week!

What's New?

You might wonder what I have been up to while you all have been busy getting ready for and having your conferences!

Noooo....I haven't just been sitting around drinking coffee and eating leftover Halloween Candy...DARN!  Here are a few things that have been happening around here!

I used the Media Center PTO money to purchase an additional wagon for the upstairs kids to use to move books to the library!

Watching the kids try to bring those big boxes of books down the stairs......made me nervous!

The wagon is stored in the little Science storage room.  Encourage your kids to get it to put the "returns" in. 
Have them put the wagon in the elevator....then go down the steps to "meet" it.....wheel the books in to the center and then send the wagon back upstairs.

No....we didn't buy a GOLD plated iPad for PSI.....

BUT this might make you even happier!

Nate and Angela have been working with me to create a process to streamline our syncing process for the student iPads!!!

The goal is to set up a "GOLDEN iPAD" that will be the model for how all student iPads look.  This will allow us to set up screens for the APPs...and more easily manage them. 

I will keep you posted!

We have started doing an inventory!

If you see me crawling around on the floor beeping books....you will understand how much FUN this is!

Imagine....every single book needs to be scanned!!!  Well at least we do it with the scanner and not the drawers of cards like in the olden days!

I would ask that if you have a secret cache of books in your room that you might be able to return....that will help when we get to the end of the process and need to go searching for items!!!

Look at all the books that came to us for FREE!

Thanks to the Book Fair!

Diane has been feverishly getting them cataloged and out on the shelves.

What Fun!

So there you have it....what's new around here!!!

Have a great week!

New Look for Student Resources Page!

You may have noticed that the PSI Student Resource Page has a new look!!!

I decided to use Weebly for this important portal to our resources.
I tried to make sure that everything transfered over from the rSchools site....but of course I am sure I have missed something.


This is how the page looks now!

• I need to hear from First, Second and Third grade to be sure that I link the right page for your "Grade Level Links", so let me know and I can do that. 
•  I decided that 4th and 5th grade students probably use the grade level links under your classroom tab.  If that is NOT the case, let me know and I will add a link.

I do want your feedback, so let me know what you think!

Have A Great Week!

Random Stuff Worth Knowing!

Fall Map Testing is over.....making me feel like doing a Happy Dance....

That also means that the computer labs are once again available for the "good stuff"!

Hope to see you there soon and often!

Please remind students that they are NEVER supposed to log in to their own network accounts!

All computers need to be logged in as guest!
The username is:  guest
There is NO password!

IXL now has an APP which has been added to all 30 student iPads!
This opens up some interesting possibilities for small group activities in your classrooms!

We will be adding first grade to the IXL subscription very soon!  I will let you know when that is.


If you would like help with setting up your classes in IXL, let me know!

 

Link to Hooda Math

 This is a website and an APP!

There are a wide variety of math games to explore (sorry, they are all in English)!

I even found one where I had to shop and exactly meet the targeted budget!

Well worth a look!

I will add it to the Math section of the Student Resources!

 

Remember to think of me when you find a Writing Craft lesson that needs a read-a-loud book that is not available in Spanish!  I am happy to read those to your class!

 

Have a Great Week!

 

Media News Sept. 23-27

More MAP Testing this week!  Here is the Schedule!

As you can see it is all about Math....and the kids need lots of time to complete the test!

In the meantime...I purchased a great little Spanish Language App...it is the FEED ME App that we have been using, but the full Spanish Version.

It is great for first and Kindergarten!



So...remember if you can't use the lab....the iPads are a way to use technology with the kids!





This week during Book Choice time...as often as I can....I will focus on using the library catalog with 3-5th grade....

In K-2  there will be stories read when I can be there....and that will be a treat for ME!

Many of you know the troubles we have been having with the circulation system, so be patient while we try to work through that!

Have a Great Week!

Media News Sept. 16-20

Monday is the start of MAP testing.

This will last for the next 3 weeks.

Luckily, now that we have the doors installed to close off the computer labs from the library, we can continue book choices as usual!

Well.....almost as usual!  I will need to be available to help with testing sessions, so I will probably miss a few book choice times.  I will let you know ahead of time if your class is one of those affected.

Lisa will always be there to help with check-outs!


This is the testing schedule for this week!

 Sorry about it running off the page....but I thought you would want to be able to read it!!!

The Computer Schedule reflects the test schedule!

Kindergarten Computer times may need to be adjusted because of the tests...or we can use the iPads!

Just a reminder that many of the document cameras are still available to check out!


Just let Lisa know and she will check one out to you for your classroom!









I know this is a busy week with our Parent Information Nights....so good luck all with your presentations....I know you will all be STARS!

Have a Great Week!

This Week In the Media Center

AND SO IT BEGINS!

This week begins regular Book Choice for all classrooms.

I will be going over the "Rules" and "Procedures" with each class.

Students with overdue materials from the past will only be allowed to take ONE book until those materials are returned!

It will be a pretty jam packed week....so please make every effort to come on time so that your kids have plenty of time to choose those new books!!

If you need my help with a computer session, be sure to check the book choice schedule when you sign up!  I will not be able to leave those sessions to help you!  You should pick a time when there is NO library book choice on the schedule.

 

Would you believe that MAP testing starts NEXT MONDAY!!!

YIKES!

I will be working on the schedule and sending it out to 2-5 grade teachers.

If you have any "special events" on your schedule for the testing window...

Sept. 16-Oct. 4

I need you to let me know ASAP!

 

Here are a couple of fun websites you might want to take a look at!

School Girl Style

This blog is one that Judy Contreras shared with me...

All about fun decor for the classroom!

Rockalingua

This site has great short videos with basic Spanish themes.

I think they would be great transition activities for the early grades!

Kim Wieber and I are thinking about holding a little work session on Wednesday after school for anyone interested in learning how to create a BLOG in WEEBLY.

More info will come by email when we actually have a plan.

If you have been thinking about moving to the BLOG format for your weekly newsletter...this might be a workshop for you!

Have a Great Week!

Headphones and Earbuds in the Computer Lab!

Rumor has it that almost all grade levels put Headphones/earbuds on the supply list! 

Hurrah!

I know you will set up great routines and procedures for managing these when you come to the lab!

The school owned headsets WILL NOT be put out at the computer stations. 

We will store a basket of headsets in the lab for kids to use on a casual basis.

Remind students who use these to return them to the basket at the end of the session.

Julie Yakes emailed me the info that there are 30 donated headsets in Deb Probst's office for students who did not/are not able to bring their own!

I certainly won't miss this view!

Have a Great Day!

Computer Lab Details!

Both of the computer labs are open for business!

The sign-up sheet is on the counter like it always is.

If you want my assistance with your projects, please note that in the center column!!  But it never hurts to also let me know face to face what your project is and how I can help!

I am going to try to be better at noting times when I am not available to help out...but you know how that will probably go!!!

NEW GUEST LOGIN!!!!

You might have noticed that the log in for the guest account has changed!!!!

It is NO LONGER     guest account

NOW it is simply the word    guest in lower case with no password needed.

We are in the process of changing the signs in the lab....there ARE stickers on the machines with the new info on them.....

If you would like stickers for your classroom machines, they are in the document holder by the door to the center.  Help Yourself!

REMEMBER!!!  All students should be logging into the computers as guest 

If you need to have something saved and aren't using GoogleDocs, come see me and we can make a plan!

A Helpful Hint When Scheduling Lab Time for Activities Involving the Printer!

If you are planning a project that will be printed.....the easiest thing for you is to sign up for the large back lab.  The computers in that lab default to the color printer with no extra step for you.

If you try to print from the computers in the center lab, they default to the small black and white printer and you will need to have the kids pull down the printer list and choose the color printer.

I KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO!!!!   More often than not, if the back lab is already spoken for, the person will probably be willing to switch with you....just ask them!

You might want to hurry and sign up.....Why???
MAP Testing will begin on September 15th....taking up an awful lot of lab times for 3 weeks!

Before you bring your students into the lab....please have a discussion about taking care of the spaces.

 Schedule a couple of minutes at the end of the session to straighten up the lab for the next group!

Some classrooms have an assigned "helper" who goes around and checks this.

• DO NOT HAVE STUDENTS LOG OUT of the guest account when you leave...this saves time for the next group!
• Remind students to NEVER turn off the computer unless they are instructed to do so!!

Hope to see you soon!

iPad Protocols

So many iPads......

30 for kids to use.....

5 For Teachers to use... 




I thought this would be a great time to review the procedures for checking out and using the iPads at PSI!

The 30 Student use iPads work like this:

15 of the iPads are kept on the top shelf of the iPad cart.  This is considered a set and are numbered 1-15.  

 




The OTHER 15 iPads are separated into 3 sets and stored in red crates in my office!  

Sometimes a crate will be there with no iPads in it.  That is because those iPads are on the cart charging.  We will leave a note to that effect.


To reserve either the iPad cart or a set of 5 iPads, you will need to put your name on the calendar in your GoogleDocs.  It is called iPad Sign-out and can be found at this link.

IPAD SIGN OUT LINK



Now it gets a little complicated....

To take the cart....just make sure you have reserved it....

To take a set of 5 OR a Teacher iPad you need to follow a couple more steps!

Notice the Notebook sitting on the counter below the cupboard with the iPads!

Please help yourself to take the iPads you have reserved!

NO NEED to ask us to get them for you!

BUT....and this IS important!

Please make a note of which crate/set you are taking on the notebook.  (who and when)

Sometimes students are using single iPads for a project (short term....) 

and they are signing them out on this notebook too!

The reason for this is to keep track of items that might need to be saved on a specific iPad.

When you take a teacher iPad (in the boxes).....just put your name on a post it note and put that on the chart that is hanging inside the cupboard door!  It wouldn't hurt to write that down in the notebook as well.

Last Spring an ad hoc group decided on some general guidelines for using the iPads in shared setting.

THE COMMANDMENTS FOR USING iPADS AT PSI!

1.
Thou shalt 
always check out the iPads on the calendar or notebook!

2.
Thou shalt 
always return the teacher iPads in a reasonable time!

3.
Thou shalt 
return the iPads to the proper slot in the cart and plug them in!

4.
Thou shalt 
return the sets of iPads to the cupboard at the end of the day and cross off your name!  

5.
Thou shalt 
return the teacher iPads fully recharged.

6.
Thou shalt 
Download any pictures or videos to your laptop or Youtube before returning the teacher iPad!

7.
Thou shalt 
remind students to use NOT to sit on the floor and use the iPads!

8.
Thou shalt 
NOT let students move the iPad cart or carry the sets of iPads!

9.
Thou shalt 
Make a note and attach it to any iPad that has an ISSUE!

 

 But....no matter how hard they are to manage...just one look at the engagement and possibilities for learning....I am thinking it is worth the effort!