Sunday, December 13, 2015

December 14th-18th

Just for fun...


Dates & Details
December 14th Board Meeting- Star Presentation 5:30 at the Main Campus LMC
December 14th Library opens for class visits this week! Schedule here
December 15,16,17 Secret Santa with reveal at our party lunch on Friday!
December 16th Holiday Breakfast- NCS 8:00 am
December 16th Kinder Hour of Code Hour of Code! See the schedule here
December 17th Dive In PD Ho Ho Ho- this week you can enjoy the gift of time if you need it :) Julie and I will be doing a STEM challenge in the staff room building our Bling it ON tree outfits. If you want to work on anything, come join the fun!
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star 
December 18th- 3rd Annual Bling It ON! Day- all of your holiday gear on one day! Lights optional :) #blingiton

January 6th- Star staff meeting Three Things For The New Year
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day - 8:30 or 10:30 Special Ed training, 12:30-3:00 Assessment Palooza with Leading Edge 
January 26/27 GLAD coaching- tentative (not all teachers)
January 28th from 5:30-7:30 Frozen Winter Fest
January 29th- Minimum Day - planning

February 3 Global School Play Day
February 5th- Report cards go home
February 15th- No school 
February 19th Fancy Family Dancy 6-8
February 26th Minimum Day

March 1st- Dr. Seuss Night5:30-7
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! Super excited that a big team will be REPRESENTING Star! 
March 10th and 11th- 4th grade to Coloma
March 19th-April 3rd NCS Spring break

April 11-15th CAASP Testing/Science CST for 5th
April 29th Minimum Day

May 11/12 5th grade to Angel Island
May 19th Minimum Day & Open House

Mindful Minute
If you're having a hard time finding a little bit of quiet, or need a little bit of inspiration-- here's something we all have time for... The 7 Second Meditation! It sends you a quick uplifting message each day at a time you specify. Enjoy! 




Sunday, December 6, 2015

December 7th-December 11th


'Tis the season that can feel CRAZY! For the next two weeks, I hope you pace yourselves, take time for some cocoa and a good book, and just enjoy your class and the season. Kids can be pretty pumped about Santa, Elf on the Shelf, and all that the holidays bring. With any luck, we'll all come sliding in to winter break still smiling! Don't forget our 3rd annual Bling It On Day is the 18th. Anything goes! Holiday jammies, lights, ugly sweaters-even a giant gift bag can be a great outfit. Julie and I will be trees, complete with lights, if anyone would like to join our forest! Go as big or as small as you like. There may even be prizes, LOL. Fabulous prizes.

Dates and Details
December 8th & 10th 1st-5th grades Hour of Code! See the schedule here
December 8 NCS Night at the Kings
December 9th - grade level meeting 
December 10th Dive In PD time is open! Feel free to use this time as needed- and let me know if you need anything.
 Hour of Code
December 14th Board Meeting- Star Presentation 5:30 at the Main Campus LMC
December 14th Library opens for class visits this week!
December 15,16,17 Secret Santa with reveal at our party lunch on Friday!
December 16th Holiday Breakfast- NCS 8:00 am
December 16th Kinder Hour of Code Hour of Code! See the schedule here
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star 
December 18th- 3rd Annual Bling It ON! Day- all of your holiday gear on one day! Lights optional :) #blingiton

January 6th- Star staff meeting Three Things For The New Year
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
February 3 Global School Play Day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! Super excited that a big team will be REPRESENTING Star! It sold out in 24 hours. Crazy.

Mindful Minute
Check out this post by Tony Wagner. I hope you will feel totally validated about the fun, passion, and social-emotional experiences you provide our students every day!




Sunday, November 29, 2015

November 30th-December 4th


Whew! It's almost December! I can't believe it. Time really does fly when you are having fun! I also just wanted to say, in case I don't say it enough, that you are all AWESOME. Does it feel like someone is always coming through your classroom on a tour? That's because they are! The word is out that the work you are all doing is amazing. And, it continues this week with more visitors tomorrow and Tuesday. No need to do something special- business as usual is fantastic. I'll try to keep you posted just so you know who it is coming through. 

Also, this week I'll be looking for student bloggers to share what they love about school and Star as part of a #principalsinaction challenge. I'd love to hear from you, too, if you are feeling the blogging spirit! What makes an ideal school? If you have your own blog, you can just share the link, or if you would like I can post on the school blog- just share a Google doc with me. 

Have a fantastic week! Have you started putting together your Holiday Bling outfit yet? December 18th will be here soon!





Dates and Details
November 30th- new student from Guatemala starts in Susie's class!
November 30th- school visit from Fairfield 9 am, Westlake admin visit 1:30 pm 
December 1st- Charter School Bus Tour- Star Academy stop from 9:30-10:45 ish (student tour guides will be stopping by)
December 2nd Star staff meeting : Class Meetings
December 3rd- Dive In PD time is open! Need help with PLTW? Blogging? Tweeting? Time to work or play? Anything goes this week! Add your questions or ideas to share.
December 9th - grade level meeting and 2016-17 planning
December 2 Charter Bus Tour - Star Academy 10:35-11:25
December 8 NCS Night at the Kings
December 10th Hour of Code
December 14th Board Meeting- Star Presentation
December 16th Holiday Breakfast- NCS
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star 
December 18th- 3rd Annual Bling It ON! Day- all of your holiday gear on one day! Lights optional :) #blingiton
January 6th- Star staff meeting
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
February 3 Global School Play Day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! 

Mindful Minute
This book was recently published. Although I haven't read it, I've heard good things about it and though I'd share. Here's the link in case you'd like to check it out. 



Sunday, November 15, 2015

November 16th-20th


This week while visiting classrooms, I was looking through the lens of noticing specific things- and the impact your choices have on our school and our students. This week, I'll be continuing N is for notice- I noticed a lot, but I didn't leave as many notes as I would have liked! One thing I did want to share with all of you is that what you all do is so noticeable to anyone who visits our school. These past few weeks we've had teachers on campus for GLAD training, teachers visiting who are interested in joining our school, parents new to Star-- people visit our school all the time. What I love about our school is no matter what time of day or what classroom we enter, visitors ALWAYS notice the same things. Here are some of the things I frequently hear: 

"They look so happy!" "These kids love learning." "The energy here. I can feel it." "Everyone here is so friendly." "I love that I got a chance to talk to students." "The kids really like to share." "This is an amazing place." "Wow. The writing."

So, I just want to say thank you. I know that this kind of learning environment happens because of hard work, sharing, and a true love for doing what is best for kids. The work you are all doing is incredible and the impact you have on students through the choices you make every day is profound. The quote above highlights the impact of one positive thought can have... just think of the power of all of the positive experiences your students have every day. You are changing the world.

Sharing a story and a
cheer in Sabrina's class
Team Paragraph in 
Tammy's room
Team Paragraph edited
 in Google Docs!
Coding with TJ 
during electives
Code cracking with Jenny
Teamwork - art and science
in Hope's class
Prodigy Math is a hit!
Awesome phone call home!
Team tasks in Susie's room
PLTW training will touch
every student
Teachers learning
STEM is fun
First graders watching a 
leopard seal eat a penguin in Amy's class
Colonial Day & Straw Dolls 
in Carly's Class
First grade facts
Brooke leading STEAM activities!

3rd grade Star Dance Team

4th / 5th dance team


Dates and Details
November 17th- Legislator visit 2-2:45
November 17th Rohrbacker- Challenger Trip to Mars
November 18th Lucky- Challenger Trip to Mars
November 18th Math and Literacy Cadre- Literacy Cadre at Star, Carly's room
November 19th Dive In: Continue PLTW modules
November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break
December 2 Star staff meeting : Class Meetings
December 9th - grade level meeting and 2016-17 planning
December 2 Charter Bus Tour - Star Academy 10:35-11:25
December 8 NCS Night at the Kings
December 10th Hour of Code
December 14th Board Meeting- Star Presentation
December 16th Holiday Breakfast- NCS
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star 
December 18th- 3rd Annual Bling It ON! Day- all of your holiday gear on one day! Lights optional :)
January 6th- Star staff meeting
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
February 3 Global School Play Day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! 

Mindful Minute
Emily Meyer's mom shared this post with me - a fun alternative to the traditional Elf on a Shelf!
Kindness Elves



Sunday, November 8, 2015

November 9th-13th #NisforNotice


This week I'm continuing Shelley Burgess' Lead Like A Pirate challenge with N is for Notice. I hope you all felt appreciated last week. It was so great to get around to almost every classroom with Tammy Lee last week (we went everywhere but the classrooms with substitutes)! Each and every classroom was filled with happy students engaged in meaningful learning. I especially appreciated how we were able to talk to students, say hi, and ask a question. Even in the classrooms where direct instruction was happening, there were plenty of turn-and-talk opportunities where we could have a little conversation. 

With N is for Notice, my notes will be focused on specifically noticing the impact of your instruction for students. I know that the choices you make are powerful and purposeful, and I want to be sure that you know I notice! 



Tweet Tweet! 
If you are tweeting out the awesome in your class, don't forget the hashtag #ncsstar ! I retweet everything I see with that hashtag on the @staracademyncs Twitter feed. 
I saw the image below and I think the answer is a YES!



Dates & Details
November 11th- No School
November 12th- Dive In PD Project Lead the Way - choose to come this week or next week to dive in to the PLTW curriculum! Be sure to do your "homework" from Susie and Carly below :)

Before they meet with us on Thursday we need the teachers to:
1. Look for the email from PLTW
2. Set up their account (an image below of the email you should have received should help you in searching, or search your email for PLTW)
3. Watch your Grade Level Video (you will need to do this 24 hours before our meeting on Thursday)
Here is a screencast to help you get to your grade level video
PLTW Screencast- How to access your grade level video


November 18th Math and Literacy Cadre- Literacy Cadre at Star, Carly's room
November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break
Dec 2 Star staff meeting : Class Meetings
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star 
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! 

Mindful Minute: 

image credit
What is the purpose of school? PACT administrator Kirsten Spall posted this blog this weekend and there is a lot to think about. As I read the post, I kept wondering when the author would get to his findings... the purpose of school. It's a LONG post, but well worth a read. Here's the part I loved--doesn't this sound like our school?


"Greatness is happening daily across our country, often in schools with scant financial resources. Our challenge is that these innovations are isolated, when they need to be ubiquitous."

The United States now has more than 500 “Deeper Learning” schools, most in our nation’s poorest communities. Clustered into a dozen networks, these schools aren’t “cookie-cutter” replicas of each other. But in their own creative ways, they deliver exceptional learning based on shared principles:
  • self-directed learning
  • a sense of purpose and authenticity in student experiences
  • trust in teachers to teach to their passions and expertise
  • a focus on essential skills (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical analysis)
  • teachers as coaches, mentors, and advisers, not as lecturers
  • lots of project-based challenges and learning
  • public display of meaningful student work

 I see this every day at Star! Have a great week!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

November 2nd-6th

image credit
Appreciation has been on my mind lately - and just recently, when a parent said thank you to me as they passed by my office, I found myself getting teary-eyed. I had no idea how much I needed to hear that, and it's not the first time that has happened to me. Am I alone in this feeling? Do I appreciate others enough? 

Then, on Twitter, I happened across Shelley Burgess' blog post and her Lead Like A Pirate challenge.


The first week's challenge? A is for Appreciation. I'm a little bit late getting started, but I am excited to have a challenge to help me to be more intentional about appreciating others enough--our staff, our parents, and even people at our other campuses and other schools. I always feel grateful, but I know I don't say or or write it enough. 

If you'd like to join me in this challenge, here's an "A is for Appreciation" note you might like.

Have a fantastic week!
Tweet Tweet! 
If you are tweeting out the awesome in your class, don't forget the hashtag #ncsstar ! I retweet everything I see with that hashtag on the @staracademyncs Twitter feed.

Dates & Details
November 2-5 Project GLAD Demo in Julie's room
November 4th  Star staff meeting in Jenny's room at 8 am. Check out Google Classroom for a few docs to review in advance.
November 5th- Dive In PD Got Mentor Texts? Come explore how to use your favorite books to create mini lessons that focus on ideas, craft, and structure.
November 11th No School- Veteran's Day
November 18th Math and Literacy Cadre- Literacy Cadre at Star, Carly's room
November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break
Dec 2 Star Staff Meeting: Class Meetings
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star (PLTW)
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! 

Mindful Minute
At Fall CUE last week, David Theriault was the closing keynote speaker. His message was about making school special and capturing moments and I wished I could have boxed it up and brought it back to you! And then this morning he blogged about it! I'm excited to share his post with you! 

Help Your School and Class Become A Family In Less Than Five Seconds



Sunday, October 25, 2015

October 26-30 #NCSRedRibbonWeek

image credit
Have a fantastic week!

Tweet Tweet! 

If you are tweeting out the awesome in your class, don't forget the hashtag #ncsstar ! I retweet everything I see with that hashtag on the @staracademyncs Twitter feed.

Dates & Details

Star In Motion as usual this week, jog-a-thon on Wednesday!
October 26-30 Minimum days for conferences (progress reports go home at this time, conferences for all students) *No intervention during minimum days
October 28- no late start - and Jog-a-Thon! Schedule 



October 28 no mtg / min day

October 29th- No Dive In PD- parent conferences
November 4th October 14 Star staff meeting in Jenny's room at 8 am. Check out Google Classroom for a few docs to review in advance.
November 5th- Dive In PD Got Mentor Texts? Come explore how to use your favorite books to create mini lessons that focus on ideas, craft, and structure.

Star Academy Red Ribbon Week: October 26-30th

Red Ribbon National Theme: “Respect Yourself, Be Drug Free”
http://www.redribbon.org/
Social Media Campaign - Show your school spirit on Facebook or Twitter and share how you’re making #healthychoices all week long!
Monday - Day 1: #MindfulMonday #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Share a picture of something that brings you happiness or peace!
Spirit Day: Pajama Day

Tuesday - Day 2: #ChooseHealthy #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar

Choose Healthy! Share a picture of your healthy food choices today!
Spirit Day: “Aloha” Theme/Tropical Style

Wednesday - Day 3: #GetActive #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar

How do you get active? Share a picture of what you do to burn energy!
Spirit Day: Sports Team/Active Clothing

Thursday - Day 4: #KindnessMatters #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar

Kindness Matters! Share an act of kindness that you did for someone or that someone did for you!
Spirit Day: “Crazy” for Kindness Dress Day - Wear mismatched or extra bright/colorful clothing!

Friday - Day 5: #SayBooToDrugs #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar

Say “Boo” to Drugs and make healthy choices for life! Share a picture of something you enjoy doing during the fall season or the month of October!
Spirit Day: Say “Boo” to Drugs: Wear a Costume or Orange & Black Clothing
(no masks, “weapons”, or scary/gory costumes)

November 18th Math and Literacy Cadre- Literacy Cadre at Star, Carly's room
November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break
Dec 2 Star Staff Meeting: Class Meetings
Dec 18 Minimum Day- Star (PLTW)
January 18 No School
January 19 NCS PD day
March 4 NCS PD Day & ROCKSTAR Roseville! 



Sunday, October 18, 2015

October 19th-October 23rd

image credit
I just want to take a moment to tell you how thankful I am for each of you. Every day, I come to Star and feel so lucky to know such passionate people and every day you bring so much joy to kids and to me! I especially felt so loved on Bosses Day, thank you so much for all of the goodies, the beautiful flowers, and the gifts. I treated myself to a fun Friday shirt, and some fancy FitBit accessories. Thank you so much for being so fantastic!

Tweet Tweet! 
If you are tweeting out the awesome in your class, don't forget the hashtag #ncsstar ! I retweet everything I see with that hashtag on the @staracademyncs Twitter feed.

Dates & Details
October 21 Star cadre - all staff meeting at 8:00 am in the staff room
October 22- No Dive in PD-- conference prep
October 30- Jennifer & Julie at Fall CUE, Amy teacher in charge
October 26-30 Minimum days for conferences (progress reports go home at this time, conferences for all students) *No intervention during minimum days
October 28- no late start - and Jog-a-Thon! Schedule 


October 28 no mtg / min day
October 29th- No Dive In PD- parent conferences
November 4th October 14 Star staff meeting in Jenny's room at 8 am. Check out Google Classroom for a few docs to review in advance.
November 5th- Dive In PD Got Mentor Texts? Come explore how to use your favorite books to create mini lessons that focus on ideas, craft, and structure.

Star Academy Red Ribbon Week: October 26-30th
Red Ribbon National Theme: “Respect Yourself, Be Drug Free”
http://www.redribbon.org/
Social Media Campaign - Show your school spirit on Facebook or Twitter and share how you’re making #healthychoices all week long!
Monday - Day 1: #MindfulMonday #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Share a picture of something that brings you happiness or peace!
Spirit Day: Pajama Day

Tuesday - Day 2: #ChooseHealthy #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Choose Healthy! Share a picture of your healthy food choices today!
Spirit Day: “Aloha” Theme/Tropical Style

Wednesday - Day 3: #GetActive #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
How do you get active? Share a picture of what you do to burn energy!
Spirit Day: Sports Team/Active Clothing

Thursday - Day 4: #KindnessMatters #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Kindness Matters! Share an act of kindness that you did for someone or that someone did for you!
Spirit Day: “Crazy” for Kindness Dress Day - Wear mismatched or extra bright/colorful clothing!

Friday - Day 5: #SayBooToDrugs #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Say “Boo” to Drugs and make healthy choices for life! Share a picture of something you enjoy doing during the fall season or the month of October!
Spirit Day: Say “Boo” to Drugs: Wear a Costume or Orange & Black Clothing
(no masks, “weapons”, 0r scary/gory costumes)


Mindful Minute
Here is our padlet wall from last week's staff meeting! Love it.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

October 12th-October 16th


Dates and Details
8:10-8:25, 8:30-8:45 Star in Motion! This week we start the REAL Star In Motion beginning with day 1 in the plans. The first new song is Good Life, it's a slow one, and easy, and probably won't take the whole time so we may fill the time Monday with 5-6-7-8 or PBJ time. Tuesday we add Thriller! We will walk through the steps for the new dances. And I have been practicing. LOL. I do find that I am able to get in from drop off to participate in both grade level times and I have been loving it!

Intervention continues! Here's the schedule

October 14 Star staff meeting in Amy's room 8 am. Check out Google Classroom for a few docs to review in advance.
October 15th- Dive In PD! This week we have two sessions happening- a Prodigy Math Playdate for 2nd-5th grades hosted by Tammy, Susie, and TJ, and TK-1 Writer's Workshop- getting started in Hope's room. Both of these will be conversation and idea sharing style.
October 21 Star cadre - all staff meeting at 8:00 am in the staff room

October 22- No Dive in PD-- conference prep
October 26-30 Minimum days for conferences (progress reports go home at this time, conferences for all students) *No intervention during minimum days
Star Academy Red Ribbon Week: October 26-30th
Red Ribbon National Theme: “Respect Yourself, Be Drug Free”
http://www.redribbon.org/
Social Media Campaign - Show your school spirit on Facebook or Twitter and share how you’re making #healthychoices all week long!
Monday - Day 1: #MindfulMonday #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Share a picture of something that brings you happiness or peace!
Spirit Day: Pajama Day

Tuesday - Day 2: #ChooseHealthy #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Choose Healthy! Share a picture of your healthy food choices today!
Spirit Day: “Aloha” Theme/Tropical Style

Wednesday - Day 3: #GetActive #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
How do you get active? Share a picture of what you do to burn energy!
Spirit Day: Sports Team/Active Clothing

Thursday - Day 4: #KindnessMatters #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Kindness Matters! Share an act of kindness that you did for someone or that someone did for you!
Spirit Day: “Crazy” for Kindness Dress Day - Wear mismatched or extra bright/colorful clothing!

Friday - Day 5: #SayBooToDrugs #NCSRedRibbonWeek #NCSStar
Say “Boo” to Drugs and make healthy choices for life! Share a picture of something you enjoy doing during the fall season or the month of October!
Spirit Day: Say “Boo” to Drugs: Wear a Costume or Orange & Black Clothing
(no masks, “weapons”, 0r scary/gory costumes)
October 28- no late start - and Jog-a-Thon! Schedule TBA
October 28 no mtg / min day
October 29th- No Dive In PD- parent conferences
November 5th- Dive In PD Got Mentor Texts? Come explore how to use your favorite books to create mini lessons that focus on ideas, craft, and structure.

Mindful Minute 
(from http://buddhaimonia.com/50-mindfulness-meditation-tips-for-beginners/)
Look for “moments of nourishment”

Find it difficult to carve out time to sit and meditate? One of the great things about mindfulness is you can do it anywhere, and that means even those times you typically feel are wasted like sitting in a waiting room or in your car during a long commute.

These are what I call potential “moments of nourishment”, little bits of time in your day where you can slip in your meditation practice that would otherwise be unproductive or just boring wastes of time.

Of course your goal should be to practice mindfulness throughout your day, but practicing in this way is a really effective way to grow your practice in the beginning and can have a big impact in lowering your stress level and helping you find a sense of peace between the chaos and craziness of your everyday activities.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

September 28th-October 2nd #everydayheroes

A little bit of Star Academy at Skywalker Ranch!

First, I want to say that although it's fun to get away and it really recharges my batteries to get to teach and learn with grownups, I really miss you guys and the kids. I also try to be all in where ever I am, and don't check my work email during the day...but I am typically on Twitter! Can I just tell you how much I loved seeing the tweets come out of Star on Thursday and Friday? TK at Fairytale Town, Star in Motion, 2nd grade at the library, and paper mache art all popped up on my Tweetdeck and made me smile! I hope you also know that where ever I go, I'm mostly talking about you all and the things that make Star so awesome! I try to bring a little bit of Star with me.

Yoda selfie #pooponhisheadoops

b51d20c0c85997b3520b6cce3535a740.jpg
Our theme for the 3 days at #cuerockstar? The hero's journey

8315472164_3fe6f7704d_z.jpg
What makes a hero?

Some of my #leadwild principal friends and 
one of the few photos of the facility

Bringing Star to Skywalker? Yes!

Check out these school leaders getting down and doing the Dino Stomp! Have a great week!




Dates and Details

8:10-8:25, 8:30-8:45 Star in Motion! We have parent coming to help on most of the days but it would be great if we could all help lead- even from the side :) I'll be back out at pickup and Joan is on vacation- we should have parents but just in case, we'll do one more week of 5-6-7-8 and Peanut Butter Jelly Time. I will have the headset mic set up and iPod ready to go, and I'll have the new routines for after fall break ready for you in your box. We will begin the real program October 12th.
Intervention continues! Here's the schedule
September 30 prep Wednesday
September 30 3rd grade to Auburn Nature Center
October 1st 1:45-2:15 PFAA Dance Assembly for 2nd-5th graders in the gym
October 3 Area 3 Writing Project Super Saturday
October 5-9 Fall Break!
October 14 Star staff meeting in Amy's room 8 am
October 21 Star cadre - all staff meeting at 8:00 am in the staff room

October 26-30 Minimum days for conferences (progress reports go home at this time, conferences for all students) *No intervention during minimum days
October 28- no late start - and Jog-a-Thon!
October 28 no mtg / min day

Mindful Minute: Everyday Heroes

You are my heroes, you are the heroes of our school, and for our kids! Here's a little Kid President to get your week off to a happy start!