Monday bonus

Last week was a blur. I've already sent too many announcement emails to you this morning, so here's a Monday update instead.

Outdoor classroom ready
The deck and log seating is ready for classroom use. We don't have a signup for it, but maybe we should? At this point, just let me know when you want to use it and I'll let you know if it's available. Sure, sounds good.

More bucket seats
Renae Goodman donated 30 buckets this morning to support our "get the kids outdoors" initiative. I placed them by the bus doors in the extra wing. I know the chickens like company, so take your class by, pick up a bucket, and head outdoors!

Don't forget...
We also have buckets by the first grade doors and we have folding chairs as well. It's going to be a beautiful week

Compost updates
Congrats to 3rd Grade for winning last week's challenge. Pretty much destroyed 4th and 5th. It's a good thing we don't have competitive teachers here. I want to try something a little different to hopefully speed things up. We're going to "tare" the trash can weight and just weigh the whole darn thing! It'll be heavier, but might speed up the waste process and keep things neater. Or it could be a disaster. Who knows?

I will be working with K-2 classes individually this week. I think it's best for everyone if we go with a more adult-centered approach for the younger ones. 

iPad Collection
Here's the rough schedule for iPad collection. I think most of you are planning on allowing iPads to continue to go home until the 24th. If you are collecting keyboards now, give me a little more time to figure out how/where/why I'm going to store them. We will be collecting chargers as well. Serenity now...

June 1 - 4th and 5th
June 2 - K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Virtual collection schedule will be finalized today. I'll email those teachers separately. 

Hope everyone had a restful weekend!

Almost done!

What a crazy week! Feels like spring break was a month ago. Hats off to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers for surviving the week! And to everyone else for getting your students to show them some love. 

Composting 
Special shoutout to Leanna and Susan for starting off our lunch compost and food waste experience. Students in both classes did a great job learning about composting, separating their food waste, and then making better food choices going forward. Our big purpose for this exercise is to show students how they can make better choices in what they eat and how much less food waste they can produce. It's a logistical challenge with them eating in classrooms and we're learning a lot and making changes on the fly. Next week, we'll be adding in fourth and fifth grades. 

Coop
Great job Nikki for getting through your week of chicken care! Or should I say great job to Nikki's students? Jake, you're up next. I didn't get to the "chicken care guide" like I promised, but for some reason I feel that next week will be more productive. Nikki's students will continue to collect compost from the kitchen because I'm getting bogged down with kid trainings. 

Classroom Stuff
Next week we'll be completing (hopefully) breakouts in all three kindergarten classrooms. I created a spring-themed breakout for students to work through. We also made spring buttons this week in kindergarten. Let me know if you'd like assistance with upcoming activities or units. 

Building Updates
Josh, Maggie, and I got the posts in the ground for the outdoor classroom. Next we'll be able to involve the students more with the actual deck build. With a little bit of luck, we'll have it done next week. The kindergarten picnic benches are up next. I hope to get those taken care of next weekend. 

Have a great weekend!

It's Testing Season!!

Only six more weeks of school...

MAP
3-5 teachers: I have placed the requested loaner keyboards and headphones in your testing rooms. I also moved the laptop cart to the hallway for easy access. On Monday, I'll be in that area while you get set up and to help things get underway as smoothly as possible. If a student forgets an iPad, they are to use a laptop. If you need additional loaner keyboards, I'll be pulling the grossest ones I can find from kindergarten and first grade students. Please leave the loaner keyboards in your testing classroom. I would also have the students who need to borrow headphones leave them in the room as well. I'll have my phone on me as well as a walkie so I can't hide from you for long. 

iPads and Keyboards
I wanted you to know there isn't an expectation that devices get sent home. If students are having issues bringing their iPad to school, you are welcome to keep it here. However, if you are doing anything on a large scale, talk to me first about the logistics and communication to parents. 

I would suggest at this point to request that keyboards come to school and stay here. Currently, there is a $50 fine for a lost keyboard. I know that many have switched hands during the year. I'd be happy to visit your room to scan and label them. I still have heard nothing about the collection of devices. I expect an answer on or around May 27th. Seriously though, the more stuff we have here, the easier it will be to collect (assuming we are allowed to collect them). 

Composting Initiative

Next week we start our Cedar Ridge composting campaign to teach students how to reduce and reuse food waste. Look for updates from Mrs. Guillory's classroom as we dial in the most efficient process for separating and collection food waste. I'm sure it will be a lot of trial and error and probably a big mess. I'll look for a cute apron to wear while I'm helping, and I haven't bought new shoes recently and I always look forward to that...

Chicken Care
Thank you Mrs. Kunkel for volunteering to care for the flock next week! The birds appreciate it. Next week, we'll start adding food waste from lunch prep to the chickens' diet. Our wonderful chefs (my son called them chefs for many years in elementary school) are filling a bucket each day with scrap veggies from their prep. We'll have a student from the helper class collect the bucket to feed the chickens. On Monday, in between MAP dumpster fires, I'll be creating highly detailed and entertaining directions for you to use when it's your week to care for the chickens. It'll be great!

Have a great weekend!

It's the weekend!!!

We did it! Who knew that five days could feel like twenty?? I hope everyone finds a way to decompress this weekend. My plan involves 19 hours of Masters coverage. 

iPad maintenance
Here are a couple of items I'd love for each teacher to address at some point next week. I would be happy to come help out if needed.

1. Update devices: iPads should be running iOS 14.4.2. To update devices, go to Settings, General, Software Update. MAP testing will not work if your iPads are out of date.
2. Storage: I've seen lots of devices with near maxed out storage. Usually it's because the student has hours of videos recorded of things that nobody wants to see. Stormi had them clean out their Photos when we returned, but it'd be good to take another look now.

We have not received word from the district about what we are supposed to do with the iPads over the summer. As soon as we get a directive, I will let you know how it will work.

Collaboration
As I am now fully vaccinated and because the district's COVID protocols have loosened, I would love to get back in classrooms like I did in the olden days. If you have projects coming up that could use a twist, let's talk! If you are new to Cedar and haven't had the awesome experience of working with me, all you have to do is email me with the line that Nikki often uses, "I have this crazy idea...". If you are out of crazy ideas, just shoot me the big picture of what you are doing and I'm sure I can come up with something. 

STEAM kits
I am still checking out STEAM kits. I'll remind them about the kits during checkout next week. I'm in the process of passing out buttons to kids who have checked out kits and completed the Seesaw activity. In May, I'll hold the drawing to give three Sphero robots to students. 

Chickens
The flock is happily housed in their coop in the kindergarten courtyard. It's been fun seeing classes out there observing before all the rain came. Abbey's class took care of them this week and Josh's will handle next week. Email me if you would like your class to care for the flock at some point the rest of the year. I also need to assign names to the rest of them. We have Fluffy, Teriyaki, Nugget, and Tweety named.  

Outdoor projects

Construction is about to ramp up. I have purchased a miter saw to have at school so we can start cutting wood (adults only, don't start calling KOMU). Next week I'll add some drills to our toolbox for students to use for assembly. I hope that in the next two weeks we'll have the kindergarten benches and Lady Gaga pit ready for the playground. We'll start construction on the outdoor classroom next week as well. A little cooperation from Mother Nature would be appreciated! 

Bookroom updates
I wanted to remind everyone about bookroom procedures. When you pull from the bookroom, please bring me the materials to checkout to you. If I'm not here, just leave them on the counter with your name on it and I'll get them to you ASAP. Checking them out gives me a record of what's being used and helps me keep track of our resources. When finished, please return to the blue crate by the window. I would appreciate it if you could arrange the books and materials so the next person can easily see the title and level of the book. 

Have a great weekend!

The Masked Reader and more

Just one more week until Spring Break!! The year has flown by. I want to say how energizing it is to see how our staff comes together to help each other out. Shoutout to Justin, Emily, Mandy, Rebecca, and probably more I don't see who have stepped up to take over classes this week. The kids deserve it!

The Masked Reader
The event will take place Tuesday evening at 6:30. I would include the link, but someone at technology services removed webinar access from my account so I'll have to start over again. In the meantime, here's the promo if you'd like to share with your families:

Update: I got my webinar back! Here's the link to "The Masked Reader": https://cpsk12.zoom.us/j/92186130870

March Reading Madness
Please fill out your class's choices for this round: https://forms.gle/iG2YyKuCDdom3DxC8 We will announce the final matchup during Monday morning's announcements. 

Book Fair ending soon!
The last day to place orders for the book fair is Monday. We currently only have 34 orders submitted. Please encourage families to get their orders in by Monday! Here's the link to include in your correspondence: https://efairs.follettbookfairs.com/guest/home?classCode=XW3GR

Nearpod
It's been fun helping out in classrooms with Nearpod! Kindergarten all used activities this week for St. Patrick's Day and rhyming words. It went really well! We have extended our trial until the end of April. We also have another training opportunity on April 7th from 3:45 to 4:45 (https://nearpod.zoom.us/j/9662511638). If you weren't able to make the first training, then try to get to this one. There's a lot of great resources for you to access and the students love the interactivity of the activities. 

Chicken Adoption
So Jen is the only teacher who has volunteered to watch the chickens over Spring Break. Just kidding, Jen. Seriously though, Mike said they could live outside around this time. I would feel a bit guilty tossing them out there when we're all gone for Spring Break. I have some extra tubs that I can use to separate them into smaller "flocks". So maybe I'll get more hits if I ask if anyone wants to watch 2-3 chickens over break. Please? Then once we return, they'll be in their permanent home in the coop. 

Mark Twain Award Voting
Fourth and Fifth grade teachers, please share this Mark Twain Award Nominee voting link with students. They must read/hear at least four of this year's books to vote. Please have them vote before they leave school on Tuesday. 

This will be my last blog before Spring Break. Feel free to read through archived posts if you are needing a fix.

Have a Great Weekend!

The Edge of Glory!

I got a little grief from my fans about not posting last week. I hate to disappoint. Things are really busy around here leading into Spring Break! Please let me know if you have questions about anything.

March Reading Madness
We are moving on to the Elite Eight! We will plan to do two rounds of voting this week. Please complete this round's voting by the end of Tuesday! Use this form to submit your class's picks. We will then narrow down to the final two by Friday of next week and then pick a winner by Thursday before Spring Break. Remember that you don't necessarily have to reread the books but you might want to revisit them before they vote. I've started to recirculate the current matchups. As soon as you are done, pass along to your teammates and then on to the next grade level. 

Chickens
It's been so fun seeing the students interact with the chickens. You can really tell that the chickens are comfortable around people. Please continue to add your names to the chicken sign up sheet. When you host the flock, please make sure the water and food containers are clean and full before you leave. It's a great job for students! You can also swap out the bedding by throwing everything away, placing new paper in the bottom, and adding more chips. If you are hesitant to host the chickens because of personal concerns, I'm happy to help. We're planning on moving them outside after Spring Break. Speaking of which, we are going to need some volunteers to care for the chickens over break. You can take them home with you so it's easier...

Flock Names
We will be assigning names to Fluffy, Fuzzy, Tweety, Nugget, Teryaki, Tender, Chick Berry, and Dr. Nelus next week. I will do some research on chicken collars. Or sweaters. I hear Leanna likes to knit. 

The Masked Reader
Hopefully you've heard about The Masked Reader event set for March 23 at 6:30. We are using a Zoom Webinar, so there's nothing you need to do for your students except talk it up. We are hoping to get a video promo ready for you to share with students. FYI, I messed up the link that Taryn used in her beautiful flyer. Here's the real link if you'd like to include it in your classroom correspondence: https://cpsk12.zoom.us/j/92186130870 

Nearpod
Please let me know if you need assistance with Nearpod. It would be great if everyone could try out a lesson for yourself. I'd be happy to help you get set up or be in your class while you are trying it with students. I think you'll find that Nearpod combines a lot of features that many of you use in many different tools. 

Benchmark Engagement
Just curious if you've ever seen this level of engagement in your Benchmark lesson?

Outdoor Seating
Please continue to use the buckets and chairs when you take your classes outside. If you give me a heads-up, I can get the chairs in place for you. I love seeing so many of you getting outdoors to enjoy the weather!

Geodes
No, not the fun kind. I'm working on getting the geode reading materials ready for K-2. I've started with 1st because Rebecca's using them for intervention. There's a lot of books. 256 total sets. So it's going to take some time. If you would like to get started, see me and I'll prepare the materials you want on demand. First request is free. 

Book Fair
Open now through March 22. Click any part of this sentence for the link.

Finally...
We are moving closer to beginning many major projects that are going to really enhance our grounds. By the end of the school year, we plan on having the new outdoor classroom with stage and seating installed, kindergarten picnic benches, and a Lady Gaga pit for the playground. Stay tuned!

Have a Great Weekend!

March Madness!

Lots of stuff packed into this update.

March Reading Madness!
Next week is the start of March Reading Madness!. Maybe you saw the giant bracket on the wall by the library (thanks Rebecca and Justin!). Today I put the first pair of books in your lead teacher's mailbox. That pair of books rubber banded together is a matchup. Read both books to your class and then vote on which they think is better and record the result. Once your entire grade has finished a pair, pass that pair to the next grade level. 5th grade, you send yours to kindergarten. Next week will be full because you have to get through 16 books. Here is a Google Form with the matchups. Submit which book was the more popular one in your class. Only submit the form one time after you have read and voted on the books. Please have it finished by Friday. The winners will move on to the second round. I'll pull the losers out of rotation next week so you can revisit the winners for the second round matchup. I know, it's hard to explain in writing, so find me if you are confused. 

We'll also be working on setting up our first all school read aloud. Stay tuned for more details!

Minh Le Author Visit
On March 9th at 9:00, all CPS classrooms will have the opportunity to visit with author Minh Le. The talk is targeted to grades K-3, but I know our 4th and 5th graders would enjoying hearing what he has to say. Le wrote the book "Drawn Together" which we read last year to students during library time. Visit Minh Le's website for more information about his books. Visit the webinar registration form to sign up your class to participate. We are so lucky to have these opportunities so don't miss out! 

Library Checkout Update
This week went well in the library. It was fun to have kids back. Now that most of you have gone through once, the subsequent weeks should be smoother. Remember that you can have your students bring their iPads if you want so they can look up books or read if they can't check out that week. Remind them that because we are moving all students through the space, they must have their mask covering nose and mouth. Books can still be turned in at any time to the crate outside your classroom. We are still processing holds throughout the week as well.

MASL Award Voting
Next week is voting for the Show Me Awards (K-3) and for the Mark Twain Awards (4-5). During library time, we'll have students vote on their favorite books from this year. I'll have a chart set up for students to place a sticker by their favorite. We have read the Show Me nominees in library. Fourth and Fifth grade student have to read at least 4 of the Mark Twain nominees in order to vote. 

Children's Literature Festival is virtual
Each year, the University of Central Missouri puts on a literature festival for kids. I was scheduled to go last year with 4th and 5th graders who read the Mark Twain nominees. This year the festival is online and free to anyone! The target audience are grades 3-5. Here are some of the authors and their books books:

• Roland Smith - "Above", "Storm Runners" trilogy, "Cryptid Hunters" series
• Gordon Korman - "Unplugged", "Schooled" and 95 other books
• Beth Vrabel - "Pack of Dorks"
• Antony John - "Mascot", "Five Flavors of Dumb"
• Torrey Maldonado - "What Lane?"
• Mary Downing Hahn - "Old Willis Place"
• Jewell Parker Rhodes - "Black, Brother, Black, Brother"
• Kelly Yang - "Front Desk"
• Veera Hiranandani - "Night Diary"

Talks start on March 3 and run through March 31. Visit the schedule here. Or visit the full Children's Literature Festival website. 

Chicken Names
It's been a lot of fun hearing the students' chatter about the chicks. You can sign up for a chick visit with this spreadsheet. It's important that they have continual positive interactions with humans, so the more they spend time with students, the more friendly they'll be. Next week, your grades will be responsible for coming up with a name for a chicken! How you decide is up to you. There are 8 chicks. So six will be named by grade levels, one by the office staff, and the last by the specialist team. Email me the name you choose by Friday so we can include it in the announcements the following Monday. Here are the breeds of chickens that we currently have:

• Buff Orrington
• Turken Naked Neck (easy to identify)
• Dominique
• Barred Rock
• Black Astaulorp
• Easter Egger
• Dark Brahma
• Cinnamon Queen

Media Lessons
So I've been tasked with writing a rotation of media classes in March. The only guideline was "enrichment". I'd like to tie in to what you are teaching. Please visit the grade level content document to add in big ideas of what you are teaching in class. 

Have a Great Weekend!