Monday, September 2, 2013

The week of September 2nd-6th


Food for thought: Inspiration Saturation       


When writing, it is important to consider many things, but there are three that I try to keep in mind when writing: audience, purpose, and form. Whether it’s a blog post or a parent newsletter I ask myself these questions. Who is going to read it? What content or message am I trying to share? What is the best way to deliver the message? This year, I have challenged myself to blog weekly via this staff blog, and as often as I can find the time on my personal blog. However, blog posts are not built in a day! During the week, I’m often inspired by something I see in a classroom, that I read in a book or online, or by a conversation with a friend or colleague. In A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, Ralph Fletcher shares a variety of strategies for writing- and one of my favorites is “writing from a list”. All week long, I make a list. My “list” is powered by Google- I love that I can jot my thoughts, copy links to online treasures, and even copy html code to embed a video - all in a Google Doc.     
This week I have a problem. My list is too long! Is it possible to have too many ideas? Have I reached a point of inspiration saturation? I review my list and discover again why I wrote them down in the first place. I love the ideas. They give me chills. I can’t wait to share them! I take a deep breath and remind myself to focus. Even the best ideas can get lost in the shuffle. And so I choose, just one, or two (okay,maybe I can hide a few in the tech tips section!) for this week. There will be time for the other ideas and new blog posts, and I realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing network of friends and colleagues that inspire me day and night. Whether it’s at my school, on a run with my friend, on Twitter or Facebook, or even in a book, ideas and inspiration are everywhere! Where do you get your inspiration?        
        Out of all of the ideas on my list, I selected just one to highlight this week. I’m excited about the journey we are on to engage and inspire our students. Technology is just one tool that can help us reach that goal. Ultimately, we’re trying to create a place of wonder and magic- where students love to be. Check out Lisa Highfill’s TedX talk and follow her on Twitter @lhighfill. She’s a California girl and is presenting at the CapCUE Tech Fest September 28th at Natomas Charter School. I’ll also be sharing this video with parents to share what we are trying to accomplish together. Happy teaching and learning!



Success notes
       Things I loved this week at Star... the princess gowns and Chicka Chicka letters in the TK class. Kindergartners reading the morning message and learning about their senses. First graders talking books on Padlet and world maps painted with sparkles. Mystery readers and goal setting in 2nd grade. Making words for spelling instead of memorizing a list in 3rd grade. Mr. Wood's best tech rule ever-- "Don't freak out!" Tons of physical activity. Happy kids at school. Standing room only at Back-to-School Night. Totally awesome! 

Dates and Details
September 4th- Whole staff collaboration 8:00 in the lounge
September 6th- Minimum day / PIP proposals due
       12:45  Whole staff collaboration in the lounge
       2:00    Grade level planning
September 9th- late start Wednesday grade level planning
September 16th- late start Wednesday grade level planning
Star Academy Parent Technology Nights (computer lab)
September 10, 2013 - 6pm-7pm
September 24, 2013 - 6pm-7pm
September 13th- Jog-a-thon
September 18th and 19th- Project GLAD training at Star 8:00-3:00
September 20th- Picture Day!
September 25th- late start Wednesday with Elsa Ouvrard-Prettol, our NCS librarian!
October 3rd- Read for the Record-- Otis by Loren Long
October 11th- Harvest Festival
October 14th-17th- Minimum Days for family conferences

Tech and Teaching Tips


Have a fabulous week!








at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)