iPads at PSI an Update

 

 The iPad Cart is ready to check out!

It has been having a lot of fun introducing the iPad cart to the students.
Our kids really love them....and it is good to give them a chance to explore before you need to use them for learning activities!

Here are some things you need to know:

All iPads have a barcode and MUST be checked out!

The iPad cart was purchased for student use in the classroom.  

It will be checked out as a unit!

If you need a single iPad for your classroom!

 There are 2 iPads that are not part of the cart.

We would like you to use these and  NOT take an iPad from the cart.

Please respect the 3 day check out limit for these iPads.

If you need the iPad cart for your classroom!

Sign up for the iPad cart on the calendar clip board that we use for Media Spaces and Equipment!

 The iPad cart may be checked out to your classroom one day at a time.

The cart will need to be returned to the Media Center each day after school to ensure:

The security of the cart

proper recharging

proper synching

You may check the cart out for consecutive days as long as you return it each day

Please remind your students about the need to use these wonderful tools with care and respect!
Let me know if you have any questions.
We are also looking for suggestions for how to manage the cart efficiently, so if things occur to you we would love your comments.

The Merry Month of May-Book Choice Info

Next Monday we begin the MCA testing in the computer lab.

We agreed as a building that all MCA testing would happen in the mornings.

When MCA testing is over....the NWEA MAP Testing begins!!!

Yikes...


 In order for all of that to happen...hopefully happen smoothly :), It will mean changes on the book side of the Media Center!


From now until the end of the year....ALL Book Choices need to be in the afternoons.

Corey and I talked about this and agreed that we need to shorten the time you spend here for book choice time.
Sadly it will also mean that I will not have the time to do lessons with your kids....
I will continue to be there to help whenever I am able!






Please look at your schedule: (and this needs to happen ASAP!

• If you have a morning time...try to find a time on your regular day to come in the afternoon.  It is easier for the kids to not have to change the day they come.
• If you have an afternoon time....let me know what 20 minutes of your existing time you will be coming...this will help with scheduling the groups that have to fit into the afternoons.

• Fifth grade classes can use the English Media block....I can have the kids pick books if they need them during the time they are already scheduled with me.

  The good news for next year....
construction plans for making the 2 computer labs more equal in size and putting a door between the computer labs and library are under way...

Maybe the Merry Month of May next year....will be really Merry!

As always...we appreciate your cooperation and patience during this busy time!

GoodNews and Not So Good News!

The good news.....

PSI is now the proud owner of 16 iPad2s


They arrived in a wonderful cart that is a charging station.


The cart is also a syncing station.

The cart locks for security!

The Not So Good News

hmmmm....you may wonder what the down side of 16 iPads would be?

Well....I have to get them all ready for you....

This is a process that takes some time. 

It is a process that is different than single iPads....because they all have to be synced so they will operate efficiently.

This is something that I am just learning to do...so I ask your patience.

I will get this done as soon as I can.

I would also like to gather a group of interested people to talk about the protocols we will develop to use this great resource....

 

Once we figure these things out...we will have an inservice....

In other words....I don't want to be the iPad Police....I need your input.

Speaking of input.....I have made a link on the Main Student Resource page so you and students can recommend  APPS for the Cart iPads!

Here is the Link:    Recommend An iPad App Here

I guess I would have to say that the news is way more GOOD than NOT!

Feel free to come in and take a look!

¡Flash Mob Maestros!

Are you all ready to join the flash mob tomorrow?
If you don't know what this is all about....talk with a classroom teacher!

I did a little research to discover the "history" of flash mobbing...
This is what Wikipedia says:

A flash mob (or flashmob)^[1] is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.^[2][3][4] Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails

 I am particularly struck by the phrase...."unusual and seemingly pointless".....hmmmmm
Anyway...here is the plan for those that weren't at yesterday's meeting!

•  The staff will be doing a flash mob during each daytime talent show.  
• María Reyes will lead the flash mob.  
• She will get up first, start to dance, and then 5-10 seconds later, another person will get up, 5-10 seconds later, another person, and then every 5-10 seconds a couple more staff will join in, until all staff in the gym are up dancing. 
• There is not schedule, simply join in, (but not all at once).  
• When the music stops, simply sit down and we will continue the show as though nothing has happened.
• We will wear orange shirts, Carnival shirt if you have one.  We don't want it to look like something special is going on, so you might want to wear something over the shirt and take that off before you dance.
    
• Pass this along to Amities and other staff that might be at the Talent Show.
  
  
• Anyway...if you don't want to look silly (again hmmmmm), you might want to practice in the privacy of your own home....

Thanks to Maria...we have video of the dance we will do!

Thanks Maria!

This should be fun!

Weebly In Action

The First Grade Team has created the most wonderful website to help their students learn about Mexico.
Click on this link to see the way they used this tool to write a unit!
Just think....with a little up front work (or maybe a lot) the first grade team has unit materials that they can use from year to year!

Mexico

http://psimexico.weebly.com/

•  Fourth Grade is also using this for their biography projects. (I will share these with you when they complete the project)
• I am working on updating the Jumpstart Page using Weebly.  I have finished the Math section. Take a look!

They used a website called weebly.
PSI has a subscription for this site.
If you would like to learn how to add a website for one of your units, let me know!
I would love to show you how!

Spring Test Season

                              

Corey and I are working on the Spring Test Schedule!

• Map Tests in Math and Reading will be administered to 2nd -5th Grade.

• MCA Math Tests  will be administered to 3rd -5th Grade.

•  MCA Science Tests will be administered to 5th Grade.

I counted and got a little freaked out when I realized that:

• This is 26 test sessions for NWEA MAP testing (and that doesn't even count the fact that most of our strong Math students need TWO test times!!!)

• MCA Math will be done in 2 sittings so that means 18 test sessions.
•  MCA Science adds another 3.

 

That is 47 blocks of time devoted to testing from Mid-April to June!

  

This is a complex puzzle of scheduling that will obviously impact EVERYONE at PSI....

We will need to work together to get this accomplished!

 

 

 

Corey and I will formalize the test schedule on Friday

Please send me an email with any field trips or other activities that would impact your ability to take a test (between April 16 and June 2).

 

 

Hope you all have great conferences!

                                    

Read Across America Day!

Unbelievable that Friday is March 2nd already!  It is Read Across America Day!

The theme for the celebration is  "Read With the Trees" focusing on The Lorax theme of Saving the Earth!

We will again....KEEP IT SIMPLE for our Read Across Celebration!
I will do the morning announcement at 8:30 with my Dr. Seuss inspired poem telling kids to go out in the hall and read!
ALL you need to do is have kids ready with books that will keep them busy for at least 10 minutes!

Here are some additional resources if you want them!

• We will display all of the Dr. Seuss Books that we have and "reserve" the Spanish Titles for staff.
• Please remember to "be nice and share"....meaning.....return the books when you are done with them.
• I will be giving out book marks to all the kids...I found one in SPANISH...yeah me!
• There is a link to Seussville on the Main Student Resource Page....alas...this is NOT in Spanish!
• Here is a link to some things that you might enjoy doing with your class....ideas that need tweaking for the Immersion environment....but ideas non the less!

Finally....a link to a well written (as best this rookie spanish reader can tell) SPANISH biography of Dr. Seuss

What is a Weebly....?

Publishing video in rSchools makes you want to pull your hair out! The only way you can publish is too complicated to go into.....

Some of you have used our Apple Mobile Me Account along with iWeb....

Simple, elegant....drop-drag-publish-DONE

ALAS......with all things technology related.....

The reason I feel like this.... 

Mobile Me is going away in JUNE!

Yikes....that is not good news.....I began to panic....
How could we publish video with out using YouTube!

So....like any good librarian....I started doing my research!

Couldn't find a solution.....
Then one of the other Media Specialists introduced me to WEEBLY!

I looked it over.....liked what I saw....and signed us up!

• Weebly allows you to create a SITE....just like Mobile Me!
• Weebly allows you to create a good looking page....just like iWeb!
• Weebly upload audio and video in a simple way....Just like Mobile Me!
• Weebly costs half as much as Mobile Me!

I am creating a new JumpStart Page for PSI using Weebly....This LINK will show you what I have done so far!
Kim designed this Drama Club page in Weebly.
We are going to put the first grade "Podcast Videos" on a Weebly Page.

If you want to know more let me know!

If you are going to be publishing any video anytime soon....I highly recommend this!

A Guest Post From Prachee

  I invited Prachee to share some insights into the work she and Linnea did with the 3rd- 5th grade teams last week.
WOW! My first guest post!

Thanks Prachee!









Linnea and I worked with grade level teams at PSI last week for grades 3-5.  Corey dropped in as often as he could.
The questions guiding the work were the 3 questions from PLC logs:

• How do we know students have learned? 

• Who is progressing and who is not? 

• What will we do to meet the needs of those who are not progressing? 

These questions are also aligned with the district's  strategic plan mission to increase student achievement without demographic predictability.

Teachers learned how to use ViewPoint

• This is a tool that allows easy access to student test scores, and allows drilling down using different perspectives. 
• In ViewPoint, teachers looked at students' MAP results for reading and math and FAST scores for Spanish, for fall and winter. 
• Teachers picked 1-2 students and talked about classroom data for those students, to triangulate multiple data points and arrive at an understanding of a student's achievement. 
• Then they discussed what was already being done to meet the student's needs, reflecting on whether these strategies were working, and what could be done differently if the strategies were not working. 
• We discussed race and systemic racism and how improving the achievement of students of color improves the achievement of all students. 

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From the Teacher Feedback Booth:

Teachers reported that it was useful:

•  to access data in ViewPoint,

• see student's achievement history, 

• learn what a student was doing in other classrooms, 

• share ideas of ways to communicate and collaborate with parents. 
• One improvement they suggested was to have more time to do this work.

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Now I just want to learn about ViewPoint!....Prachee....Thanks again for sharing this information with us!

New Electronic Resources For You

In Spanish No Less!

PSI now has access to 25 E Books....(thanks Sally for using some of the leveled book money for these)
We are trying them out to see if this is a resource that you will use!

This is a screen shot of the Student Resource Page.....notice the MACKIN VIA icon.

This will take you to this screen where you will be prompted to log in:

Name: psistudent
PW: orioles
I will only leave this info up for a week....after that I will need to delete it!  (but I bet you will remember it :) )

When you get to this Screen...you can start opening and exploring the 24 books we own as of now!

 Please notice that the gray tab says databases....

I have purchased a resource called "Country Reports"!

I bought the additional Spanish Resources....take a moment to explore!

The images are amazing....I am a little disappointed by the amount of English in the "Spanish Version"....let me know what you think!

I will send a little flyer home in the next Thursday Folder so kids will have access at home!

I will also do a run through with library classes this week when it makes sense and works with our timeframe!

Happy President's Day!