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. 

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

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!

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