Just a Friday

I've heard people say "the best thing about three day weekends is the four day week that follows". That's definitely wrong. The three day weekend is the best. I've made a personal decision to unplug from school on the weekend. Please don't let that stop you from sending me emails over the weekend if you want. Just know that I probably won't respond unless you're having an emergency that needs to be solved for Monday. So go ahead, Jen, hit send!

What's happening...

• 
  The "Perfect Square" activity is underway. Ms. Burlison's students did an awesome job creating rivers, cats, castles, airports, and more.
• Ms. Hickcox started Mystery Zoom prep this week. Next week I'll be in each third grade class to get them started as well. 
  
• Kindergarten is starting our building scavenger hunts. Ms. McIntyre's class completed it today and Ms. Shafer and Ms. Burton's students will take it on next week. Kindergarten always loves their scavenger hunts and breakouts!
• Next week we'll start our football catapults with Ms. Kunkel's fourth grade.

Book a Day
I'm getting quite a few Book a Day submissions. Thanks for showing your students how to submit their books. I can only post one book per day, so have patience (looking at you, Maude). Email me names of students who will get a boost from seeing their name on the board.

Wifi
I have a few work orders open asking for investigations into what I think are wifi issues. These deal specifically with Seesaw and the Studies Weekly. I intend to continue to submit those until it's figured out. To be prepared, it's helpful if you can record students and times that you are seeing issues so I can add them to the work order. That's the first thing they ask for. 

Extended absences
At this time, students who you know will be out for an extended time should not be taking home iPads. If the family requests work, it should be sent in paper form.

iPad Care

Couple of things to try to stay on top of...

• Check to make sure devices are up to date. The current version is 15.6.1. Check for updates in Settings>General>Software Updates
• Please teach your kids how to remove their headphones and charging cable. We're starting to see broken plugs. 
• Their name labels need to stay on. And remember, no additional stickers. 

Vertical Share Time
Come by the media center Tuesday after school for an informal technology integration share time. I'd love for you to share snippets of what you are doing so others can get ideas. At this point in the year, it'd be great to share how you are using Seesaw (when it uploads) with your students. I believe Seesaw is an excellent tool to bridge the gap between school and home. 

The Green Team
Ms. Brinlee has been working with a small group of fifth graders called the Green Team. They are working on restarting our lunch composting program. Next week, they will be meeting with fifth grades to introduce the system. The following week, fifth grade will begin composting at lunch. We'll bring on additional grades as the efficiency improves. Today we rescued several spools from the nature playground to convert into composting bins. Should be a fun project.

Have a great two day weekend!

Three Day Weekend!

I'd like to start by thinking Mandy for all her support with getting student iPads up and running. I know she enrolled many classes, changed passwords for 3-5, and sent me info on all the issues that were popping up. 1000 Villasana Points to Mandy!

I think (knock on wood) that all iPads are distributed and functioning. At least my list says so. Let me know if that's incorrect.

What's happening with classes

• Third graders assembled a few donated benches that are now installed in the Kunkel-Kinkead Courtyard
• We made buttons in Ms. Sales, Ms. McIntyre, and Ms. Shafer's classrooms. 
• Shoutout to Allie for leading the Apple Classroom refresher after school on Tuesday

Cedar Ridge Media Bingo

It's back. You'll find a playing card in your box. The process is simple. Complete a task, tweet out your activity with #CREmediabingo, and mark it off your board. Complete bingos to earn book fair money. It's a friendly competition, so don't get crazy. And it starts Tuesday, so anything you may have completed previously doesn't count. Which is good news for Nikki on one particular square. 

September STEAM Challenges
You'll have a couple options for September. One will be fairly active and the other is more low key. Pick whatever you think best fits your class. Email me to schedule a time.

1. "Football catapults" - It's football season! Students will design and build a catapult to launch a football through the uprights. Learning targets will include simple machines, fulcrums, launch angles, gravity, and velocity. Students will work in teams. Plan for an hour.
2. "Perfect Square" - I'll read the book "Perfect Square". Students will then get a square piece of paper and create something out of it. It'll be cute. Students will work by themselves. Plan on 45 minutes.

Literacy

I would love to come observe a Benchmark lesson in each grade level. I'd like a better understanding of what the lessons look like in action so I can think through how we can support your readers with library materials. If you are willing, please let me know so I can get it on the calendar.

Book a Day
You should have received a laminated "Book a Day" QR code for students (and you) to submit books. Please post that in your rooms and let your class know how to use it. Again, contact me directly if you have a student who would be thrilled to see their name on the board.

End of Day iPad Care
Please make sure you have a process to confirm that every iPad is accounted for at the end of each day. Devices do not go home at this time. I know there are some grades that are considering it. Let me know what you are thinking at a planning meeting and we'll work out the best process for making it a success. 

Computer Imaging

Contact Carl if your laptop has not been imaged since last school year. Email him at crobinson@cpsk12.org to schedule a time that works for you. At some point, laptops that haven't been imaged will stop working.

Arts Integration

You received an email from Carlei that included a piece from Hallie Rainwater about arts integration. I'd like to vouch for her as an excellent resource that you should utilize. She has a ton of experience with elementary students, does productions for high school, and runs my daughter's dance studio. Her musical theater numbers are pretty great. I would highly suggest you make contact with her to get something scheduled. Your students will love it. Here is her form to schedule a time in case you deleted the email. 

Media Center Scheduling
The library is open on Mondays and Fridays except for 10:30-11:00. I'd love to offer you my space to bring your class for activities. A change in venue can be a good thing, especially if your students need room to spread out. Just let me know when and I'll block it off the schedule. 

Book Purchases
I'm putting together a list of purchases for the collection. Send me titles that are new or that I just don't have. I'd like to send off the order next Friday. 

Seesaw Uploads

I've heard from a few teachers that Seesaw appears to be timing out when students are uploading work. Please let me know if you are experiencing issues as well so I can put together information for a work order. 

Chair

Thanks for reading so far down! I had to spend some expiring Scholastic dollars so I bought a new pieces of furniture. I have this blue chair that needs a home. If you would like it for your classroom, go into the Groupme and simply enter your favorite movie. If you read this, but don't need the chair, enter your favorite vacation destination. Nothing else. No explanation. I'll do a drawing next week to find a winner.

Have a great weekend!

Four down...

I'm ready for next week and the prospect of actually doing what I'm here to do. The iPads are out in bulk. I know there are quite a few issues to work through with getting devices to new students and getting everyone enrolled. Please continue to email the issues and I'll run them down one at a time. 

Updates from the Classroom
This section is always my favorite. Each week I'll highlight what I've been doing and what's coming up. Its purpose is for you to join in. Let me know when you see something you'd like to try. It's a bit thin this week...

• Buttons - all of first grade made their "All about me" buttons. Other grades might want to do the same or go with goal setting, resolutions, etc.
• Mystery Zooms - I met with third grade during their planning time and we've already started planning out Mystery Zooms to tie in to their geography unit. I'm looking forward to getting them started in a few weeks. 
• Bench building - on Tuesday I'll be working with some of Ms. Kinkead's students to assemble some benches to be placed in the picnic bench courtyard. They were donated by a family last year.

Media Center Bingo
Next week we'll be starting Cedar Ridge Media Center Bingo. Look for the cards in your boxes. For the newbies, it's a game that can get you fabulous cash and prizes. Simply complete the challenges on the bingo board and tweet your accomplishment with #CREmediabingo to check off the box. Everyone who completes a "bingo" wins. Those who complete the most win more. The only way not to benefit (both financially and from the learning experience) is if you don't play. It's optionally mandatory. 

Keyboards
While iPads are scarce, keyboards are plentiful. If you would like to have a set of keyboards in your classroom, contact me and I'll get them delivered. 

iPad Case Care
I've spent a lot of time handling iPads this week. The cases ranged from nearly new to obscenely disgusting. We need to do better with regular monitoring and cleaning of the cases because we need to assume they will be ours each year. I would suggest you do not allow stickers on the back. If you do allow it, you'll need to be prepared to spend time in May with a putty knife and gallon bottle of Goo Gone to get them off. When you check out at the end of the year, I will be very picky about the cases when you sign out. Consider yourself warned.

Grade Level Planning Times
I will be planning on attending our scheduled grade level meetings next week. Here's what I have on my calendar:
Monday - 5th grade at 9:20
Tuesday - Kindergarten at 2:10
Thursday - Fourth grade at 10:10
Thursday - Third grade at 11:00

Computer Imaging
If you still need your teacher computer imaged, contact Carl Robinson (crobinson@cpsk12.org) to schedule a time. 

Apple Classroom
Tuesday after dismissal I'll be in the media center to do a demo of Apple Classroom for our new teachers. Everyone is welcome to attend to get a refresher. 

STEAM Challenges
Next week I'll start planning out September's STEAM challenges. Look for an update next Friday on the activity and for scheduling.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to your last weekend

It's been a long week! I hope you are able to recharge over the weekend. If you need me, tough. I'll be on a play date with Rachel's husband all weekend. 

One Read
If you only read one paragraph of my updates this year, let's hope this is the one. My job is to offer instructional support to teachers. Over the last 20 years, I have been involved with countless projects with grade levels ranging from preK through 8th grade. So I'm here to help you plan, teach, reflect, and adapt. I'm not an evaluator. I know things don't always go well the first time. I've had many activities blow up despite the best planning. It happens. But we learn and move on, just like we expect the kids to do. So please use me.

Team Planning
Thank you to kindergarten, third, and fourth grades for giving me your planning periods. I anxiously await news from first, second, and fifth grades. 

Laptop Imaging
If you don't need your laptop this weekend, bring it to the media center before you leave today. Carl will be back over the weekend to image as many as he can. Your laptop may have an updated wallpaper screen. That does not mean it's imaged. Carl has to take it and image it manually. If you don't leave it with me this weekend, you'll need to schedule a time for it to be imaged. It takes about two hours and will have to be done at some point. Don't hold off. 

Document Cameras
You can come to the media center to pick up your document camera. We are short three right now, but those are on order. Once you have the camera, you can install the software yourself to get it going. Simply open or search for "Software Center". The application is called iPEVO Visualizer. 

iPads
I have our plan in place to get the year started with devices. It's not ideal for all grade levels, but it's the best we have considering we are 80 devices short. After I finish sending this out, I will start organizing the devices and bring them to your room. You might get them today or Monday. Most likely, they are dead unless the previous user powered it off completely. Of course we don't have chargers for all of them. So we'll need to charge in waves. It's going to be a major undertaking to get everyone up and running.

Student Passwords
The default password at this time is "22cps123456" ("123456" being their student number. Allie, please don't put in "123456"). Students in K-2 will not change their password. Mandy will work with grades 3-5 to change theirs during media. She'll give you a hardcopy of your class's new passwords. 

Library Checkouts
Will start on Tuesday. Let us know if you have conflicts. 

Have a great weekend!

End of the year prep

Congratulation to everyone for finishing up MAP testing. It was an excruciatingly long week of questions, white spinning screens, and rain. If you're a member of the Cedar Ridge FTO Facebook page and have enjoyed this week's treats, please post something. It was a big shift from previous years and I know they'd appreciate the feedback.

CREdX Updates
All of our talks are revised and ready. Speakers have now entered the "practice every spare minute of your life" stage. Myself and our committee members will begin pulling speakers from class next week to practice. I don't have a set schedule, but it will a time when they aren't at specials or lunch. If one of us arrives to practice and it's not a good time, we can always come back. A reminder that the event is May 24 from 1:30 to 2:30. Please do not schedule anything during that time. I will most likely use Zoom webinars to stream to your classrooms because it's what we are used to.

Last week of checkouts...
Is next week. We will start sending you lists of checked out books after your last checkout to start the collection process. Just a heads-up, we might need to make some changes to our checkout schedule for next week. I'll email you ASAP if that needs to happen. 

iPad Collection
I've decided to have each teacher schedule your own iPad collection. I know what you're thinking: less work for Matt. But other schools are collecting during Media class starting the week before and I think that's too early. I want you to have time to finish projects that might still be in progress. So my only hard deadline is that I need all iPads in the Media Center on May 25. You can complete the collection earlier if you want, but please keep them in your rooms. Once CREdX is over on the 24th, I can redirect my attention to iPad collection. Here's the basic process:

• During the last full rotation of Media, Mandy will walk students through the backup of files.
• You will pick a time from May 20-24th to prep your devices for summer. I will give you detailed directions next week for that process. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.
• Keep your prepared iPads in your room.
• On May 25, I can come around with my cart to pick them up from your class and get them prepped for summer school or next school year.

I will be happy to help out. But I will be spending a lot of time working with our CREdX speakers during that timeframe. It'll mostly involve physically cleaning and then erasing the devices, so I'm not too worried. 

Teacher books
I'm trying something different this year for end-of-year checkout. I'm asking all staff to turn in your library books and bookroom materials by May 20. Of course, if you are finishing a read aloud, just let me know. I would like to avoid the last contract day scramble to find materials. This change also gives us time to complete our inventory before the last day of school. 

Video streaming
Sorry to be a downer, but I feel I should include a blurb about showing videos. Copyright is a complicated issue. I'm not a copyright lawyer, but these issues come up each year. When I saw Netflix was open last week, I contacted my coordinator to make sure I wasn't missing out on some big change. At the very least, you are violating your terms of agreement if you are using streaming services in class. I have no idea why Netflix isn't blocked on the filter anymore. It's not because it's suddenly allowed to be shown. Netflix does offer free one time use of some of its documentaries. You can find more information here: Educational Screenings of Documentaries. Maybe that's why is open now. Amazon Prime is open because if it was blocked, we couldn't purchase on Amazon. Disney+ is blocked because they sue. There is a process to determine "Educational Fair Use", but that does not apply to streaming services. That is for physical copies that are owned and only shown for specific purposes and for specific durations. With that being said, I'm not the copyright police and I'm not going to tell on you if I see you streaming something in class. With that being said...

Have a great weekend!

Spring is here. I think.

Longest. Week. Ever. I think our arrival at home at 2am on Sunday after travel delays completed jacked up my week. As evidenced by all my date mixups. I hope to spend the weekend cutting wood, watching golf, and sleeping. And maybe enjoying a Truly margarita or six. 

I want to send a shout out to my Mark Twain book group members. These 24 students finished all 12 books this year. That's a pretty big accomplishment. If you see any of these students in the halls, give them a high five. 

The future of the flock
I have decided it's time for me to remove items from my plate. The first will be caring for the chickens. Let me know if you are interested in taking over that task. I'll be happy to train you and get you up and running. The coop will need an overhaul this spring if we are going to keep them. That's going to require funds and time. Again, I'm happy to assist. If nobody wants to take it over, then I'll work with the science department to find them new homes at another school. 

Spring Projects
I have talked to several of you about implementing projects this spring. We have six picnic benches onsite now. I'll be working with Ms. Kunkel's class to assemble and place those. Ms. Kinkead has big plans for a garden that her class has helped plan out. Ms. Hickcox's class has also spent a great deal of time researching and planning outside spaces. If your class has plans that need my help, please let me know so I can start planning with you. 

MAP Preparations
Mandy has been working hard this week on getting iPads setup for MAP testing. Students spent time this week cleaning up devices. During this current rotation, she is testing all devices to make sure the DRC app is working correctly. Once confirmed, students are going through the online tools training sessions to get familiar with that functionality. 

CREdX Updates
Speaker applications are due on Monday. Please talk to any students who you think would be a great speaker. We have about 8 applications right now. I'd like 20-25 total. If you have a student who turns in an application, I will be pulling them next week to present their letter to the committee. I'm looking at Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:00, but will let you know as soon as it's finalized. 

Jerry Craft Author Visit
As part of the Unbound Book Festival, students will be able to meet virtually with author Jerry Craft. He wrote the popular book New Kid and Class Act. The preliminary time is 10:00 to 11:00. Connie is working on adjusting specials so our 4th and 5th graders can watch the talk. 

Geography Bee
For some reason, I signed up to facilitate the geography bee. Thanks to the fourth and fifth grade teachers for giving the first rounds in their classrooms. Next week, I'll be giving the second round of questions via Schoology. The top 12ish students will move on to the final school championship that will take place in a couple of weeks. I hear there's hardware for the winner. 

Document Cameras
At this point, all general ed classrooms should have a document camera installed. I think there are more on the way, but the purchasing card couldn't handle it. The goal is to have them in all classrooms by the fall. I know the setups are a bit tricky, especially if your computer is to the right of your board. I wish the usb cables were three feet longer so it'd be easier to set up. I might look into some extensions next year to see if that's a feasible expense. Give 'em a try if you haven't yet. I've heard from several of you already about ways you've used them. 

Tech tip of the day
The "mute" feature is a way to quickly turn the sound completely off and back on again. If you can't hear sound coming from your flat panel, try toggling the mute button first to see if it's turned on.

Hope you have a great weekend

March Monday Updates

I hope your week is off to a good start. I figure this will be the only update for March. First, FTO has asked that I share a survey with all staff. They are looking for feedback for setting the budget for next year. This is your opportunity to share how you think money should be spent, so don't miss out: 2022 Staff Survey

CREdX
The event will be held May 24th at 1:30. After Thursday, our committee should be getting with 2-5 teachers to schedule a time for them to come in and talk to your classes. I'd like that to happen before spring break so students have time to work on their writing over break if needed. Applications will be due by April 8th. 

iPad Returns
All iPads should be in the building and stay in the building by this Friday. If you have students that do not have their iPad on Friday, send me a list of names and I will lock down their device. I also need a list of names of students who did not return the chargers you gave them this year before the Covid break. I asked for you to keep a list of who received them. I will be submitting a fine for anyone who didn't bring them back. I'm down to less than 20 chargers right now. Because of the small inventory, I may have to pull chargers from the K-2 classrooms during MAP testing so that our 3-5 student devices are fully charged for testing. 

Media Class
iPads need to be charged for Media class. That is the tool they use for instruction, so please have a plan so they are useable during that time. 

March Reading Madness
Here's this round's link one last time: Round One Voting. I get the impression this activity is causing some stress. It is for me. I don't have an answer for those of you who are wanting to read them to your students but aren't getting them. If you have suggestions on how to make the process run smoother, I'm all ears. At any rate, please send the books back to the media center at the end of the day today so I can redistribute starting tomorrow. 

I will announce what books are moving on in March Reading Madness tomorrow during announcements. Voting for the Elite Eight will take place this Friday. I'll send you the link at that time.

Show-me Award school winner
Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog was our K-3 student choice for the Show-Me Award this year. I doubt it was because it was the one we read to them during voting week. I submitted our selection to MASL last week. This week we are voting for the Mark Twain Award. I sent 4th and 5th grade teachers an email on how to get that done. They'll announce the state wide winners for both awards later this spring. 

I hope you have a great week...

Congratulations!

I have a lot for you today so please read through it all. Monday will be the start of our final announcements schedule (for now at least). You'll be able to access the Zoom announcements from your calendar Monday through Thursday. The kids have been very excited to lead the announcements. They appreciate both compliments and ideas to improve. 

Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence Nominees
Congratulations to this year's nominees:

• Outstanding First Year Educator: Jake Floyd
• Outstanding Educator, K-2: Jen McIntyre
• Outstanding Educator, 3-5: Julia Hickcox
• Outstanding Educator in a Specialized Area: Matt Villasana

Please consider writing letters of support for our nominees. I will need them by March 2. You can email them to me or bring a hard copy with your signature. Also consider having your students write letters for teachers they work with now or had in the past. I will send out a Seesaw request to families as well. 

Technology Share and Needs Session
After doing some reflection, I think that it'd be helpful to start discussing technology integration tools once again. Thanks to Jen and her student teachers for the nudge. So Tuesday the 15th after school will be our first meeting. I'm envisioning 30 minutes of simple conversations about what's happening in your room that you've found to be successful and questions about what you'd like to learn. Then based on that information, I can set up times to work with teams or individuals with targeted PD. The 15th, 3:45-4:15ish. 

February Fishbowl Activities
I have two activities to choose from. I imagine these will spill over into March since we are hitting the second wave of "no school February".

• Pop-up cards - students will create a pop up card to share with a friend or family. I thought it'd be a nice tie in to our Cardinal Cool Tools. I anticipate this activity to take about 45 minutes. Good for K-5.
• Ski Jumping - students will build a ski jumper to take on Mount Villasana using craft sticks, foil, and tape. They'll send their jumper down the ramp and see how far he or she can travel before crashing in a spectacular fashion. I anticipate this activity to take about 45 minutes as well. Good for K-5, but for the K-1 classes it'd be best if you could bring along a college helper if you have one.

I have quite a few items on my calendar already. If you'd like to do both, we'll start by scheduling one and then see how quickly things fill up. 

What's Happening?
Here's a look at some past and upcoming events that might interest you:

• We completed a Mystery Zoom in Ms. Tierney's class and Ms. Long's class recently. On Tuesday, Ms. Ziegler's class will be participating in their first Mystery Zoom.
• Breakout fever: Kindergarten is participating in Breakout Boxes, Valentines Day Edition. Ms. Kinkead and I are continuing our teamwork initiative in her class with a two-step team breakout on Monday. Finally, I'll be putting together a space themed breakout for Ms. Hickcox in the coming weeks. 
• Third grade is starting a PLTW activity with simple machines. I'll be in their rooms over the next several weeks helping students building simple machines and then designing and building a compound machine to rescue a tiger.

Media Center Programming
Read Aloud - Next week will feature the book "Meet Miss Fancy", another of the Show Me Award nominees. We'll continue to feature books by or about African Americans and point students towards our display of Black History Month selections.
These Books Need Some Lovin' - It's been fun seeing students choosing books that have never been checked out. We'll continue throughout February.
Wordle - We will definitely continue with the Wordle. It's been a lot of fun. I think Lori is enjoying it more than the kids.
Saturn V LEGO - I purchased a ginormous LEGO for students to build. If you have a student who deserves some build time, let me know and we'll get it scheduled. I'll make sure they take a space book before they leave.

CREdX Planning
Our CREdX event is back in the works after a two year hiatus. This event is modeled after TED talks and was a huge success our first year. I'm forming the planning committee now and we'll start our meetings next week. We will have a theme picked and start looking for speakers around the first of March. Here is one of the 2019 CREdX talks so you can see what it looked like. The rest of the videos are linked on the CRE home page. 

100 Cup Staff Challenge
Congratulations to the 5th grade for participating in the 100 Cup Staff Challenge on Wednesday. You have each won $100 for our upcoming book fair.

I hope you have a great weekend

We need some loving

Longest three day week ever. Can't wait for next week. I got back into classrooms this week. We completed three Mystery Zooms with classes in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Ms. Kinkead's class participated in a mini breakout activity to work on collaboration and problem solving. Lots of info below. Let me know if you have questions. 

Lost/Broken/Milk iPads
Please institute a check system to monitor your student iPad status. Students are given an insurance of one free break a year. Maybe not something to advertise, but it's the policy. I would highly suggest that any student with a broken screen does not take the iPad home going forward. Maybe if you tell them that policy now, they might take better care of them. Like I mentioned in my email on Wednesday, you are free to modify your class's procedures for taking iPads home. As long as you have a plan in place to get paperwork or the iPad home in the event of a long term absence, you are covered. 

Let me know if you have students who aren't bringing their devices to school. I will lock the device so it's not usable and include a friendly reminder to return it to school. 

Library Checkout
We are returning to a "normal" checkout next week. Regular times and a 30 minute slot. Fingers crossed that we can keep it place for the rest of the year. It would be great if students in grades 2-5 can continue to bring their devices to utilize Destiny and check out items in Sora and Flipster. 

Student Announcements
We are transitioning to student-led announcements starting next week. It'll be a slow process so we can try to get it right, but eventually students will handle Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I thought it'd be good to have a rundown of what announcements will be like for next week:
Monday - Mrs. Epperson
Tuesday - Students in Ms. Hickcox's class
Wednesday - Me
Thursday - Mrs. Epperson
Friday - Mrs. Epperson
You should have received an outlook invite for Tuesday's announcements. I'm using the same link as Wednesday, but I thought it'd be easiest if you had a calendar event for each day. So eventually you'll receive invites for Monday and Thursday as well. Hope that makes things as clear as possible.

February Media Center Promotions:
We have a lot going on next month...

Black History Month
Our read alouds in February will all feature African American authors, characters, and/or history. We will have a display on the semi circle shelves. Our collection has a ton of great books so we hope to get the students to experience them. 

"These books need some loving"
Starting on Monday, the Media Center will be featuring "books that need some loving". We are in the process of pulling all our books that have never been checked out. They'll be displayed on all the stands, end caps, and book board for the month of February. We are going to encourage students to check them out. There are a lot of really great reads so feel free to check some out yourself.

Media Center Wordle
Look for our media center Wordle next week. Each class will be able to enter a guess during your library visit. It will be displayed so everyone can see the progress. Winning guesses will earn your class 153 Villasana Points. Correct letters will receive 22 Villasana Points. Good luck!

Chickens
I'm in the process of evaluating our flock of chickens and their place at Cedar Ridge. I don't feel like I have done a good job of sharing ways for you to utilize them. We had a great outpouring of classes in the fall to help with food, water, and egg collection. I decided to have one class take care of them during the winter to keep it simple. As the year has progressed, I've realized that our coop will need to be overhauled. Before I commit to that process, I need to know that we want them here long term. I also want to know that our staff is on board. We can't only have one person invested in their care in the event that one person were to leave. So I'll be working on coming up with some integration resources for you to use with your students. I'll also be sending out a survey next week to get your overall feedback on the flock.

Have a Great Weekend!

January 14

Are you looking forward to a three day weekend? Tuesday morning might come quickly, but there is good news. The Upton family will be providing bagels for the staff for breakfast. Come by the media center after 7:30 to enjoy. Just watch your crumbs. 

Masked Reader
Thanks to Allie, Jake, and Colleen for participating in the second annual Masked Reader event. It looked like we had 79 participants on the call, but I know many of them represented multiple viewers. Hopefully everyone got on the call. I'm not sure why it was asking some to register because that was definitely turned off and the chat was too. Oh well. 

iPad transportation reminder
Now that students are taking devices home, it's important to remind them on how to get the iPads home. Students should leave the classroom at the end of the day with the iPads in their backpacks. They should also arrive with them in their backpacks. There's not much we can do about the time on the bus. If you see a student holding a device during arrival or dismissal, please have them stop and put it away before moving on. 

Readathon
The FTO Read-a-thon is next week. FTO put an informational sheet in your box a while ago. I'm assuming they put reading logs in your box as well. Encourage students to record their reading on those logs which are to be turned in on January 24th. All students who turn in a log will get a ticket to enter into the "Teacher Time" raffle to win an experience with a staff member. 

There's also a door decoration contest. It's supposed to start on Tuesday. Don't stress over it. If you did it, great. If you didn't but still want to participate, have it done sometime next week. The judging isn't until the 27th. Maybe have the students draw their favorite book covers, scenes, etc. Slap some colored background on the door, tape up the pics, and call it a day. 

STEM Planning
I'm working on planning out the STEM activities for the rest of the school year. Our first events will be Olympic themed challenges. I think those will be ready to go the week of the 24th. Look for scheduling information in next Friday's update. 

Have a great weekend

Last of the year!

We're almost there! Not much to report this week. I feel like I've spent a lot of time with your students this week doing all kind of activities: breakouts with kindergarten and buttons, hot chocolate, and circuit cards with all. 

The hammock forest was popular the first part of the week. If you'd like to utilize the forest (and I'm sure we'll have many unseasonable days this winter), review the schedule to see if it's available: Hammock Forest Master Schedule. Then email me with the time you'd like. If you are scheduling in advance, Ms. Hickcox's class will be happy to set the hammocks up in the morning for you. If it's an impulse event, the hammocks are housed in room 322. You can grab them on the way down and put them back when you're done. 

Kindergarten completed a gingerbread man breakout activity. Unfortunately, they all broke out and I wasn't able to eat their cookies. And apparently I offended at least one student to the point where she didn't deliver a cookie to me like her teacher told her too. She's definitely been added to my naughty list. Let me know if you're interested in trying out a breakout when we return. I tailor them to your students' needs. 

Festivus is near!
Don't pack a lunch on Tuesday! We'll have an array of delicious soups, salads, breadsticks, desserts, and school appropriate drinks in the media center for your enjoyment. There will be prize drawings for gift cards and merch. There might also be a selection of Villasana Designs woodcraft in case you're looking for some classy gifts (cash, check, Venmo). Be sure to fill out your Airing of the Grievances form by Monday. Those will be on display for almost everyone to enjoy. And for the record, the grievances can be about staff other than me. 

Have a great weekend!

Darren is awesome!

First off, congratulations to Darren for an amazing performance last night. Your passion for music is definitely rubbing off on the students. You surely deserved a day off today!!

It's been a huge week. The Fishbowl was buzzing with circuits, buttons were created, and hot chocolate was poured. And there was a bit of construction happening on the grounds. Shoutout to Kara and her wonderful selection of lotions that are keeping my hands supple! 

Hammock Forest
The hammock forest is scheduled to be open on Monday. The weather is looking pretty great the first part of next week. Email me if you'd like to take your kids out there. I'm still thinking through logistics but the idea is that student helpers will set up the hammocks in the morning and take down in the afternoon on days where it's scheduled to be used. Our families have dumped a good amount of money into this project, so we need to teach students how to use it. When you are using the area, please review the expectations with students:

• The forest is a relaxation area
• The hammocks are for sitting and laying in only
• Gentle swaying is encouraged; they are not swings
• You should only be touching your hammock; if you need to move, duck under your neighbor alongside the post

Document Cameras

I was ambushed by third grade today over document cameras. If you currently have a document camera and find you aren't using it much, or for only a part of the day, please let me know. It would be great to share the love and then perhaps Taryn will buy more for all to use. 

Festivus
Our celebration of Festivus will be on December 21 during your lunch time. We have parents signed up to bring in delicious soups and cold school appropriate beverages. FTO is giving desserts and Taryn is supplying OG (apparently that's the abbreviation for Olive Garden) salads and breadsticks. To prepare for the Festivus "Airing of the Grievances", start thinking about all the ways your coworkers have disappointed you this past year. I'm using a spreadsheet because I realized I needed more space for Jen and Lori. 

Have a great weekend!

Happy Festivus!

I hope you are enjoying the treats in the fridge. We'll try to keep it stocked as much as
possible to keep you energized for this holiday season! To clear any confusion, the spreadsheet and Christmas Movie Bingo cards were intended for your personal use, not with students. 

December Activities
Thanks for the interest in the three December activities! I'm now fully booked for the rest of the month. I have 63 events scheduled the next 12 days. Should be fun!

Hammock Forest Update
The hammock forest project is heating up. We have raised the necessary funds to purchase all the building materials and we nearly have all 30 hammocks donated as well. Tomorrow, a parent will digging our post holes. Installing the posts will take some time and will be weather dependent. I will likely reach out to 4th and 5th grade teachers to coordinate student groups to install posts. With any luck we'll have it ready to go just in time for winter. 

Festivus is back!
Mark your calendars for December 21 at lunch time. Come to the media center to enjoy a meal, watch a traditional Festivus show, air your grievances, and participate in feats of strength. Families will be providing soups or chili, Taryn will be providing Olive Garden salad and breadsticks, and FTO is giving dessert. There might even be attendance prizes...

Library Checkout Request
Please have students leave water bottles, toys, or other distractions in the classroom.

Have a great weekend!

It's that time of year again!

It's Christmas movie season again! This week's post contains my most famous contribution to society: the definitive list and ratings of Christmas movies and "Christmas Movie Bingo" (trademark pending). Scroll down to access these treasures.

Updates
I know it's been super busy, but here are a couple of things we've done through the media center:

• 
  More Mystery Zooms are taking place. I met with Ms. Ziegler and Ms. Long's class to get started on the process. Ms. Kunkel met with classes in Massachusetts and California this week. Ms. Hickcox also connected with a class in Massachusetts. Next week, Ms. Tierney and Ms. Hickcox have sessions scheduled. 
• Balloons were floating through the Fishbowl this week. Ms. Tierney and Ms. Maude visited to hear "Balloons Over Broadway" and then created their own balloons to showcase on our very own street with stores named after our very own staff. Really fun!

Sora Updates
Our circulation numbers are climbing quickly. We now have over 230 checkouts which is double the number we had just two weeks ago! Thank you for promoting this resource in your class. And extra great news: my grant money has arrived! So when students return from break, there will be another $2000 worth of eBooks and audiobooks waiting for them. Sweet!

Teacher Appreciation Committee
We have new FTO committee focused on Teacher Appreciation. Joining me on the committee is Abbey Upton, Nikki Kunkel, and Rachel Burlison (she doesn't know yet. I love surprises!). If you have suggestions for activities, please let one of us know. Our first order of business is to plan and implement an ongoing beverage and snack station in the lounge. Please fill out this Teacher Appreciation Lounge Survey to let us know what you like! I'm also planning a return of the Festivus luncheon this year on December 21. Stay tuned for details!

Kiss the Pig Link
Monday will be the Kiss the Pig event. Students will be able to watch the event through Zoom in your classrooms. FTO has arranged for some snacks and drinks to be delivered for the viewing. Here is the link we'll use on Monday: Kiss the Pig Zoom Link

Alright, here's the content you're really here for. I hope you enjoy!

Christmas Movie List
-2021 movies are highlighted in green
-Netflix movies are highlighted in red
-if you have issues with the ratings, make your own list!

Christmas Movie Bingo

Have a great weekend!

You did it!

It's been a long week! Congratulations on making through the first trimester of another
crazy year. I only have one thing for you in this edition. 

"Matt Grants" are back!
Are you wanting something for your classroom that will enrich the education of young minds? Books, technology, seating, etc? Look no farther because "Matt Grants" are back. Running a book fair again has added a significant number of Benjamins to my Scholastic Dollar account. There's no real criteria or limit to what you can ask for. There's really no submission form either. Just tell me what you want (Scholastic Catalog). Enter 68863 as our account number and then your info. Sounds like you can make wishlists too. So look around and tell me what you want. The worst I can say is "no"! 

Ok, one more thing. We've had half as many Sora checkouts in the last two weeks as we did from August through the end of October! That's good. Please, please, please give your kids time to view the Sora app. It would also be great to include it as an activity to do when students finish their work. I have titles that suit grades 2-5 with more coming once my Links to Learning grant money arrives. 

Have a great weekend!

Your Definitive Book Fair Guide

What a great week! I'm sure you noticed that my usually cheery personality has

been in overdrive this week. In case you didn't know, the Braves are World Series Champions! 

Book Fair Information
All the info for next week's book fair:

• Your class will be completing digital wishlists during library time next week. Have them bring their iPads. They will be taking pictures of desired books and can post them to Seesaw.
• Sales will take place after school each day from 3:45 to 7:00.
• There will be no sales during the day. However, if you have a student who brings in money and you know their parents won't show up for conferences, let me know and we'll make it work.
• Come in after school today to pick out your classroom wish list books. Please don't clean us out. And don't take the last copy. If you'd like the a title that only has one copy left, let me know so I can order more first. You are welcome to come in during next week and add books to your stack. Or you can be like Jen and disregard all my directions and pick out 47 books. 

What's been happening...
It's been a busy week. Here are some of the highlights...

• 
  All of second grade visited the Fishbowl to create seed dispersal machines. We
  loved seeing so many unique designs to evenly spread seeds over our test area. Some worked well, and some failed miserably. But that's how it goes!
  
  
• Several kindergarten students visited my secret workshop to paint their new picnic tables. We'll have those out on their playground next week.
  
  
• 
  Ms. McIntyre and Ms. Wilson's classes came to the Fishbowl to take on the fall STEM challenge. They used apple chunks and toothpicks to build their names.
  
  
• Ms. Hickcox's class started working on Mystery Zooms. We introduced how it works and ran through a practice session with me. Their first real Mystery Zoom is scheduled for November 22 with a class somewhere in the world.
  
  
• Kindergarten had a special visitor this morning. Daisy, a therapy dog, had lots of books read to her this morning. 

Get all the rest this weekend! Thanks to YouTube TV, I'll be watching replays of World Series except during the three hours when Georgia is slaughtering the Tigers. 

Midweek edition

I wanted to send a midweek update to cover the rest of the time before Halloween Break. 

What's been happening?

• 
  Fourth grade is continuing their Mystery Zooms. Maybe you've seen our progress on the board outside the library. This week, Mr. Akkerman's class connected with a class in Ottawa, Ms. Kunkel's class connected with a class in Minnesota, and Ms. Tierney has one scheduled for Friday.
• Ms. McIntyre continued her work with Mystery Words. This afternoon, her class connected with a Locust kindergarten class to share and guess mystery words. She saw what fourth grade was doing and we put together this cool activity!
• I worked with Ms. Tierney's and Ms. Kunkel's classes on using the Clips app. Students are using Clips to share the information they've gathered about Native Americans. After a quick tutorial and about 30 minutes work time, the students had some pretty cool videos made.
• 
  Ms. Hickcox's class is working on book recommendations. I visited for a quick minilesson about recommendations and the Clips app. Now her students are creating recommendations using Clips and they will be posted to a Flipgrid to share via QR codes with other students. Look for their display to continue "growing" in the hallway.
• Ms. Kunkel's class used the Fishbowl for an egg drop activity. They have been studying how to keep their brains safe. We set out materials for student groups to build a protective vessel for an egg from the Cardinal flock. After getting rained out on Friday, I ventured to the roof on Monday (nah, that probably wouldn't be allowed) and dropped the contraptions. The results were fun to discuss!
• I've continued with my five Mark Twain nominee groups. It's been fun discussing the stories with the kids. Today, one group was served tea to go along with the book and you might see us learning how to play cricket outside very soon...

Fall STEM activities
Being gone the first week of October really through things off for me. So my October STEM challenge will become the Fall challenge. This time I'm giving you a choice of activities centered around apples:

1. Apple Letters/Names - students will create letters/words/their name using apple chunks and toothpicks. Creations will be shared via Seesaw
2. Apple Shapes - we'll use apple cubes and toothpicks to create 3D shapes such as cubes, cylinders, or spheres. Creations will be shared via Seesaw
3. Apple Boats - students will create apple boats using apple chunks and other materials available to them. We will test the boats' strength by adding coins until they sink. Creations will be shared via Seesaw

When you decide what you'd like to do, email me in the form of a fast food order. I can start taking orders for days in November.

Bookroom Accommodation
Thanks to a recommendation from Ms. Jeffries, I have added a couple of desks to the center of the book. If you are lacking the height to see the bins on the top shelf, you can now bring the tub to the desk to sort through.

Halloween/Thanksgiving Buttons
If you'd like to schedule a time for students to make buttons for Halloween or Thanksgiving, contact me. My schedule is pretty stacked up before Halloween, so that might be tricky at this point. 

Email on iPads
Students in grades 3-5 have access to email. Mandy can teach them how to set up their email, create a signature, and discuss digital citizenship guidelines for usage. In the past, we have left it up to teachers to make the call about whether or not they learn how to set it up. Let me know if you are interested.

Book Fair
There will be an in person book fair this November. It should arrive on November 5th and be set up for conferences the week after. We will have students preview the fair and create wishlists during their library time that week. Sales for the fair will only take place after school. I'll send out the times to you and families when I get it figured out. 

That's it.

See you in a week!

I'm heading out to Tennessee on Sunday with the fifth graders. If you need anything at all, including lunch pickup anywhere in town, just contact Kendra Collard at extension 0. 

Thank you to Susan, Taryn, Lori, Jen, and me for volunteering to enter the "Kiss the Pig" contest. There's still time to sign up. Let me know if you want to be added to the list. It's fun, and your kids will never let you live it down if you don't sign up. Just saying. 

Classroom Happenings

• 
  Mystery Zooms are in full effect in fourth grade. We completed three this week
  and visited with classrooms in Illinois, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. We have four more on the calendar already for October. Look for a display in front of the library that will show our progress.
• We wrapped up the LEGO storytelling activity this week with four more classes. We had 18 classrooms come through this month. Next month will be much shorter, but look for the October activity in next week's blog.
• I visited Ms. Hickcox's class to show them the Clips app. I'm looking forward to seeing what they create. I'd be happy to visit your class to do the same.

Bookroom update
I spent some time over the last few weeks getting all the Geodes barcoded. All sets are now ready for use! I also rearranged the entire space. You'll now find all the "old" leveled sets on the left side of the room. All the Geodes are on the right now. I also have our lit sets cleaned up for you. In case you didn't know, we have the best set of chapter books of any elementary school in the world. Use this link of available books to see what we have. I have added the lexile and reading level as well. 

Current Events with "The Week Junior"
I would like to start working with classroom in grades 3-5 on current event literacy and discussion. We purchased "The Week Junior" for our Flipster catalog to support that work. It's an excellent resource with short articles and activities about a wide variety of topics. I have reached out to Joy Bess for integration ideas. It includes teacher editions located here. If your class or whole team would like support with current events, please let me know. In the meantime, access the "The Week Junior" and other periodicals through the Flipster app. 

Computer Imaging
Carl needs to image your machines if he hasn't already. If you don't have the "Can't Hide Awesome" on your desktop, then you are out of compliance (looking at you Jen). Just kidding, it's not that big a deal. You just might not be able to print or anything. Let me know so I can get it scheduled with Carl. It does erase everything, so save your stuff. 

Library Checkouts on the 28th and 29th
Stephanie and Lori have me scheduling really far out now. I think Lori is a little Type A. So if you have a library checkout on the 28th or 29th, we are going to reschedule you for either the 25th or 27th in the morning. Let me know what time works for you.

Have a great weekend!