Take a second to check out the new bulletin board outside the media center. It only took me a few months to get to it. I just wanted to put up a reminder to students about all the great reads we have available through OverDrive. And so you teachers remember that there are books for big people too! Chad, I'm sure there are some great off-season fantasy football reads out there as well...
Teachers needed!
We are looking for some teachers to participate in a pilot experience that will be totally awesome. The goal is to structure a process where you can record lessons in your classroom to reflect on your teaching. So who is making the recording, you ask? A robot of course! After recording, you'll be able to upload your video to shared space where others can learn from you. Sounds great, eh? Let me know if you are interested.
Resources Reminder
We have lots of great stuff here. I've enjoyed watching the students (and teachers) partake in the "maker-infused checkout" recently. All of those materials and more are available to use with your classes. Here is a list of really great resources we have here at the Ridge. Let me know if you want to try something out or you don't know where to start. I'm pretty good at coming up with ideas. And if you aren't named "Mantle", you only have to ask me once!
Up-cycling opportunity
I was cutting out some pictures the other day and realized I was about to throw out some perfectly good bookmark-sized scraps. If you find yourself in the same situation, send them to the media center. I'll have a container on the counter to house them.
#CREreads
I need help with our "Book a Day" board! A few of you email me your books which is awesome. Take a second to tweet out your read alouds to #CREreads so I can add them to the board. We get to tell our story, so let's get the word out there!
Have a great weekend!
PS
To answer your question, yes, I spend as much time picking out memes as I do writing the entire body of my post. It's purposeful. This week I just want to see if Josh or Chad read it.
I could get used to this 13 days off, 2 days on gig! Check out the notification I got late on Christmas Eve. It's nice to know that Santa keeps up with the latest technology. Maggie was impressed that he was able to get out in under a minute after leaving presents, eating cookies, drinking milk, and gathering the carrots she left for the reindeer. Impressive indeed!
Here's a long list of short updates and announcements. Enjoy your well-deserved weekend off!
Maker Try It Out Day
Next Friday the 11th will be the first annual "Maker Try It Out Day" in the media center. Come down any time you have a spare minute to play! I will have a ton of really cool activities set out for you to try. Bring your iPad with you so you can record things you want to do with your students. Special thanks to Mrs. Villasana who spent no fewer than 6 hours over break "testing" OSMO pizza. SMH.
Maker time during checkout
I'm going to be piloting some new activities next week during your checkout time. Students who have no overdue books or fines will be given the opportunity to make/code/experiment after they have checked out new books. Students who can't check out will stay at the tables and can still read borrowed books. It's a pilot, so I'd welcome any feedback or suggestions.
eLearning Courses open
If you are someone who doesn't automatically delete my emails, you would have seen that there are free eLearning courses available through PD Express. The courses are all online through Schoology. It's a great way to get some new learning and to earn 32 hours of inservice credit. Let me know if you'd like suggestions on what courses might be right for you.
Curiosity Fair
The Curiosity Fair is set up in room 304. I sent out the signup yesterday. Here's a link to the schedule in case you forgot what you signed up for: Curiosity Fair Schedule
Shoutout to 4th and 5th
I tallied up our current number of Mark Twain Award buttons earned and we are at 113. That means that not only have our 4th and 5th grade students read that many award books, 113 have passed a quiz about their reading through Schoology. That's a huge increase over last year!
Have a great weekend!
