What I found during Early Release!!!

While you were busy working on your curriculum development activities....

I was out searching for resources for you....

Look what I found!

This website called TV411 has some Spanish Videos about science topics!
I would love to hear what you think.  

I have discovered someone else who loves blogging as much as I do....
Check out THE SPANISH PLAYGROUND....  It is written by a woman with lots of experience teaching Spanish Immersion.  The posts are organized in categories...well worth some time exploring!

For instance....she posted about You Tube Book Box Videos....Here is an example:

....there are a bunch of new iPad apps on the Cart iPad....look for a stand alone post about them....

and a reminder to use the Google Doc Sign out for reserving the cart!







Last but not least.....I placed an order for $1000 in new books.....they will hopefully be here in a couple of weeks!

Have a great day!

Time to Get Your HO HO HO On!

Friday, December 14th

3:15-5:00

PSI Teacher Lunchroom

Make and Take Holiday Decor!

Cost: $10.00

Supplies Provided:

Greens

Dogwood Branches

Pinecones and other decorative add ons

Fresh flowers by request

Ribbon

Wire
 Floral Foam


Advice and Inspiration...

 
 What YOU need to bring:

Container (waterproof or an insert that is waterproof)
any twigs, pinecones, old decorations, candles etc)
glue gun if you have one
floral snips/garden clippers or strong scissors

regular scissors








 RSVP to Mary by DEC. 10 (money due then so I can shop)

 


There is a sign up sheet on my office door..
..please put your name on the list to help out with the different jobs that make this such fun....


Hope to see you there...

Save The Date! Make and Take Workshop!

Don't these people look like they are having fun?

They were enjoying the first annual(?) Make and Take Holiday Decor Boutique last year!

Back by popular demand.....is it a "demand" when your "boss" asks...."What day are we going to have this?"   HMMMM.....Just kidding Corey!

Anyway...we ARE planning to do this again! 

So Save the Date:  Friday December 14th.....3:15 to 5 in the Teacher Lunchroom.

I will send more details soon....Hope you can join us!  It was great fun! 

Paid Workshop Opportunity....Learn To Use Weebly

Would you like to create websites to use with your students?

Are you ready to move to an electronic newsletter?

Just looking to learn something new?

Come learn about  Weebly!

We are holding two workshops.....obviously they are optional.....but we would love to have you come.

Training – Part 1 – Monday, Nov. 19; 3:00-5:00 pm.  (You will be paid for 1 hour.)

Training – Part 2 – Monday, Dec. 3; 3:00-5:00 pm (You will be paid for 1 hour.) 

               

 We will show you the basics of the Weebly Site...do a little brainstorming.....answer your questions and get you started on your own sites!

 The SLP Schools Foundation awarded Mary and I a grant last spring.   

The purpose of the grant is to explore and create interactive Kindergarten websites that support the immersion language model. 

We have started to create materials that students can use independently, as well as to share information with parents about PSI.

We have created 2 interactive kindergarten websites and a parent blog so far.  The plan is to add sites for each of the thematic units taught in Kindergarten!

Take a look and see what you think!

Weekly Newsletter

Thematic Units:  

Foundational Language 

Math

Now we want to share these projects with you and perhaps inspire you to try this yourself.

The good news....we asked for $$$$$ to teach you how.....Yippee!!!

Ingrid has already started....take a peek at Equipo Brown!!!!

So we hope you will consider attending the workshop!

See Mary or Kim with questions and/or to RSVP.   

We are excited to share this information with you!

iPad Cart Information

Congrats on having your conferences over!!!

So now on to November!

I have finally posted the iPad sign out on Google Docs!

It is shared with you, but here is the link anyway!!!

IPAD SIGNOUT ON GOOGLE DOCS 

If you do put your name on the signout, please let us know if your plans change!

You may check the cart out for any length of time.

It works best to do half days so that you are able to find a time to come get it and return it!

PLEASE DO NOT have students transport the cart!

 While you all were busy with your conferences, I spent a considerable amount of time synching and organizing the apps so that each iPad should have a similar lay out on each window.

If you have any suggestions for great apps (especially Spanish Language) let me know and I will download them.

 

I am trying to resolve the issue of head phones for the cart.....so many of the apps have sound and when a whole class is using them it can get loud....

Any suggestions?.....the idea of sixteeen headsets all tangled up on the shelf inside the cart makes me crazy!!!!

Having them in baggies might work.....do you think that would be too cumbersome when you are managing the cart in your classroom?

HMMMM............

Anyway....the iPads await your clever instructional plans!!!!

New Books

 Can you believe the election is 2 weeks from today...

 There is a display of election themed books on the shelf....
The kids are bummed because I am saving them "JUST FOR TEACHERS"....

Hope you come and get one!

In 4th and 5th grade library classes we are examining campaign posters....and discussing how the candidates send subliminal messages through images.....
Interesting discussion!! 

 

 

Here are some of the books written by David LaRochelle....only one in Spanish :(  but they are pretty cool!



They are also reserved for teachers.



Have a Great Day!

Jumpstart Grades 3-5 Starts Tuesday 10/23

We are done testing....
We have RIT scores.....
Jumpstart can begin.....

JUMPSTART Begins on Tuesday AM 8:15 until 8:45

  Lisa does not begin her duty day until 8:30!!

If I am supervising Jumpstart, I cannot help students with individual book selection.

DO NOT send kids to exchange books until 8:40 as there is no one to help them!!!

Grade 3 to 5 teachers will find a stack of these Jumpstart Passes in their mailboxes in the next couple of days!

•  To begin with-each Grade Level can send 6 students each day for a total of 18 students
•  As students become more familiar with the procedures, I will increase the available spots to 8 per grade.
• Responsive classroom guidelines would suggest that no student miss more than 2 morning meetings per week.
• The more specific you can be with the"assigned" task to be worked on the better it is for the kids (and me too)!!!

 Let me know if you have questions!

Quick Tip for Adding Movies to a Web Site!

Lots of you are customizing your webpage with videos from You Tube!
There are lots of great Spanish Videos out there.....

Kim and I have been doing this for the new Interactive Kindergarten website and we are learning some tricks!

The problem we needed to solve was the fact that after the video we put on the site played...
a whole bunch of other videos show up as choices at the end of our chosen video.....arghhhh!

Here is the solution that we discovered!

Go to You Tube and select the video you want to use.


At the bottom of the video there is a button that says SHARE.

When you click it you get this at the bottom....

Click on the little button that says embed.... 

You get this screen with the html code you will need.....

notice the check box that says "show suggested videos when the video finishes.....

UNCHECK this box....

and THEN copy the new code that appears.....

Paste that code on your webpage and you will not see the suggested videos that are the problem....

Hurrah!  Success......

We are looking for a way to use You Tube videos that don't have all the You Tube stuff around the edges.....so if you discover a way to do this, let us all know!


Here is the link with complete directions for embedding a You Tube Video

http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=171780&expand=UseOldEmbedCode#oldcode


As always....if you have questions about this, let me know!

Have a great day!

Jumpstart Information

It is time to start thinking about how 

Jumpstart will work this year!

Jumpstart will begin as soon as NWEA Map testing is completed.

The Morning Sessions of Jumpstart-from 8:15 until 8:45 are reserved for Grades 3 through 5!

These Morning Sessions will be devoted to MATH interventions.

• Once Grade 3-5 teachers have NWEA Math results, please meet as a group to identify those students who will be using Jumpstart.
• I will need some sort of identifier for RIT Score and Strand to work on.
• If you want students to use IXL, I will need to know what activities you want students to work on.
• It is recommended that students miss no more than 2 morning meeting times a week for Jumpstart. 

Afternoon Jumpstart for Grades 1-2

will start at the end of October.....

There are 24 spots each day! 

(12 per grade level....it could be 3 per classroom or the grade can determine the students who most need to come)

The focus of afternoon Jumpstart can be either Reading or Math

It will help me if you give some indication of the skills you want the students to work on.

I am working on the "Pass" that students will use.....If you have any specific ideas or suggestions for this.....let me know!

NWEA MAP Testing BEGINS!

MAP Testing will begin next Monday, September 24th!

Kindergarten and First Grade Teachers.....You can stop reading this NOW!

BECAUSE.....testing will no longer impact library use!!!!

Well....only a little....during the testing blocks I will not do "lessons" during book choice!

But the good news is that we are really only testing for 2 weeks!
The kids will have the chance to check out books and you are most welcome to read to them!

For Grades 2-5

Here is the working schedule for testing!

• We are scheduling Math first because many people will need these scores for their PDP goal.
• We have scheduled 2 blocks for 5th Grade Math because historically they have needed this.
• The assumption is that you will bring the students that you teach for MATH during your MATH block.  

Now I NEED some things from YOU !

1. Someone from each grade level needs to contact me with the name of the classroom and the number of students who will be coming for the test.
• Jana should be the person letting me know about 2nd grade!!!!
• 4th grade should note that only one class can test each day....(then the students who need makeups can fill in the remaining computers...)
• I will assume that YOU are keeping track of students who need to complete tests!

1. I would like to demo how to terminate a test and have each of you keep a copy of the directions to do this....so that you learn how to do this.

BUT....
Scheduling this round of testing almost seems like a vacation with our new doors and both labs being big enough for testing!