Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Leadership from Across the Pond: Sir Alex Ferguson
 |
| Sean Pollack |
Ferguson's Formula
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
Gene Predicts Sleep Patterns and Time of Death
A fascinating article on a gene discovered by Harvard doctors that can predict the best times to plan daily activities and, when the time is right, what time of day you're most likely to pass away....
Gene Helps Influence Sleep Pattern and Time of Death
Gene Helps Influence Sleep Pattern and Time of Death
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Mindset List
What a fascinating idea! This is, technically, the same generation that our middle school students are a part of so it is worth the time to peruse the list and see what it says. Besides, it's a pretty entertaining list! A sample:
5. If they miss The Daily Show, they can always get their news on YouTube.
9. They have never seen an airplane ‘‘ticket.’’
18. Their folks have never gazed with pride on a new set of bound encyclopedias on the bookshelf.
67. Chronic fatigue syndrome has always been officially recognized with clinical guidelines.
73. Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Canterbury Middle School: 2012-2013 School Year Preview
2012-2013 Preview
Reconfiguration
As you all know, the 5th grade will be part of the middle school this year. We have been preparing for this move for over a year now, and are excited to implement the change. We believe this move is developmentally appropriate and will add a wonderful new layer to the middle school experience.
As part of this transition, we took the opportunity to look at our program and are set to implement some very exciting things. Fifth through 8th graders will all take a leadership course designed to have students think specifically about what leadership is and how we can live it out each day. We have a new Big Brother/Big Sister program between the 5th and 8th grades. We increased our composition offerings in all four grades to focus on writing across all subjects. We continue to research and implement best practices in education and, with the prospect of a new science and technology building on the horizon, we are preparing our program to offer the finest educational experience possible to all of our students.
There is one specific piece of the Reconfiguration work of which I would like to remind you: the new Middle School Grading Policy. This policy will go into effect at the start of this school year. Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, we discussed an approach to grading that acknowledges the need for 1) a logical progression of difficulty as it pertains to how much we weigh summative assessments, formative assessments, and student responsibility and 2) the need for consistent policies when it comes to re-tests, late or missing work, and extra credit. Attached to this letter is an outline of the new grading policy in the middle school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Technology
We are very excited about the technological improvements to our program we will be implementing this year. They will certainly enhance the learning experience for your child. First, we will have another laptop cart in the building. With this additional cart we now have three laptop carts and a computer lab containing a total of ninety-five Mac computers. Along with this incredible hardware infrastructure, we will also be using Google for Education Apps, particularly Google Docs, extensively this year. This platform will augment the learning experience for our students through a significant and meaningful increase in both peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher collaboration, communication, and feedback. All of this software use remains under our Canterbury domain and security standards while allowing students to store and access work from any computer at any time through the “cloud.”
Finally, as I mentioned in the April Reconfiguration Report, we will be rolling out a Student and Parent Portal called NetCommunity that will allow an individualized look at your child’s school experience including announcements, grades, class schedules, assignments, and extracurricular activities and schedules. In tandem with our grading policy, this should provide very clear insight into your child’s progress in as close to real time as is possible. We know you will be excited to have this kind of access. You will be receiving more details on this new service very soon.
Trips
One of the hallmarks of the middle school experience is the trips we offer to our students throughout their time with us. Trips are a wonderful way to address the whole child through experiential learning opportunities. This year we will be discussing the nature of our trips and how to best maximize our resources to provide the finest educational experience. This will mean that trips will take on a different look in the 2013-2014 school year. I will be soliciting your feedback as the conversation begins and also keep you up to date with the conversation’s progress.
2011-2012 Year in Review
High School Placement
You will remember that we began a more formalized high school placement program in 2011-2012. The purpose of this program was to provide a one-on-one family approach to finding the right high school for each student at the school. We are uniquely positioned to offer this service because of two factors. First, as a small PreK-8 school, we know our students and families very well, allowing for a caring and informed perspective on all of the high school options out there. Second, as an academically challenging PreK-8 school, we have developed and continue to build strong relationships with prestigious public, magnet, independent, and boarding schools seeking students who reflect our Middle School Vision. We will continue this program next year under the direction of Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity.
This year we are proud to report that the Class of 2012 matriculated to twelve different high schools including Page, Grimsley, Northwest Guilford, Northern Guilford, The Elon School, Weaver Academy, Greensboro Day School, St. Mary’s, McCallie, Deerfield, Christ School, and Baylor. Additionally, almost all of our graduates who will be attending Page or Grimsley selected the International Baccalaureate track. We are very proud of our newest alumni and wish them all the best as they approach new challenges in high school.
One last point as we move forward: for the eighth year in a row a Canterbury graduate was selected as a local public school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.
8th Grade Portfolio Program
Last year was the first year for the Canterbury Portfolio Program. The core purpose of the program is to incorporate the necessary skills for success in the 21st Century and is in line with our mission of educating the whole child. More directly, it provides a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
Eighth graders spent the year developing a portfolio of digital products which proved they had acquired the ten skills of a Canterbury graduate. The skills are:
Projects varied widely from papers and paintings to PowerPoints and Prezis; from podcasts and iMovies (including videos of work with the Special Olympics and NCAIS Honor Band) to virtual models of lunar bases. Students presented their portfolio to a panel of administrators, answered questions about their work and experiences, and received immediate feedback over a two week period in May.
Overall, the program was a success. It provided the 8th graders with a venue to reflect on their learning, a real-world experience in project and time management, and a serious and meaningful opportunity to analyze and concisely deliver remarks about the work they completed over their middle school career at Canterbury. These are essential skills for citizens of our world and the 8th grade class did a fantastic job of putting those skills to work this year.
Based on feedback from students, parents, teachers, and mentors, we have implemented changes to the program which should make for an even better Portfolio experience in 2012-2013. Some of those changes include:
We believe this program is crucial to our mission to educate the whole child and fulfills its purpose to provide a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
iPad Pilot Program
In November 2011, I wrote to outline the goals of our iPad Pilot Program. In summary, we wanted to measure the effectiveness of the iPad in a one-to-one setting. We used as our guideposts the following questions:
Over the course of the iPad Pilot Program, we found that it was effective if used to its capacity. In terms of organization, note-taking, and teacher collaboration, its use demonstrated the value fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we were only able to get e-texts for our literature class and while iBooks was exceptionally effective in terms of classroom use, home reading comprehension, and note organization, it was of limited scope because the rest of the classes still depended on hard copy versions of their text resources. Furthermore, the e-versions of texts or curriculum-based resources are not cost effective nor have they been developed to the point where it makes sense to put everything a student needs on the iPad.
So, at this time, we cannot confirm that giving an iPad to every 7th and 8th grade student would be beneficial. Each student would still require other textbooks and/or information. In the words of one of our 7th graders, “it isn’t worth it if it is just going to be another book I bring to school.” So for now, we will not be implementing a one-to-one model with iPads in the 7th and 8th grades.
We do feel that the software development is moving rapidly enough that we might be able to implement their use in the near future. Apple’s recent announcement of their partnership with three major textbook publishers, as well as their creation of e-reader development software, means we will see high quality resources at a reasonable price point to consider moving to a one-to-one model in the future. When that times does come, we will have the research and training in place to be able to move - if we choose - into that model quickly.
I am excited about how these three programs developed over the 2011-2012 school year and for what 2012-2013 holds in store. We continue to work to make them as effective as possible in developing the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community guided by Judeo-Christian values.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
David Skeen
Middle School Director
Canterbury School
Reconfiguration
As you all know, the 5th grade will be part of the middle school this year. We have been preparing for this move for over a year now, and are excited to implement the change. We believe this move is developmentally appropriate and will add a wonderful new layer to the middle school experience.
As part of this transition, we took the opportunity to look at our program and are set to implement some very exciting things. Fifth through 8th graders will all take a leadership course designed to have students think specifically about what leadership is and how we can live it out each day. We have a new Big Brother/Big Sister program between the 5th and 8th grades. We increased our composition offerings in all four grades to focus on writing across all subjects. We continue to research and implement best practices in education and, with the prospect of a new science and technology building on the horizon, we are preparing our program to offer the finest educational experience possible to all of our students.
There is one specific piece of the Reconfiguration work of which I would like to remind you: the new Middle School Grading Policy. This policy will go into effect at the start of this school year. Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, we discussed an approach to grading that acknowledges the need for 1) a logical progression of difficulty as it pertains to how much we weigh summative assessments, formative assessments, and student responsibility and 2) the need for consistent policies when it comes to re-tests, late or missing work, and extra credit. Attached to this letter is an outline of the new grading policy in the middle school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Technology
We are very excited about the technological improvements to our program we will be implementing this year. They will certainly enhance the learning experience for your child. First, we will have another laptop cart in the building. With this additional cart we now have three laptop carts and a computer lab containing a total of ninety-five Mac computers. Along with this incredible hardware infrastructure, we will also be using Google for Education Apps, particularly Google Docs, extensively this year. This platform will augment the learning experience for our students through a significant and meaningful increase in both peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher collaboration, communication, and feedback. All of this software use remains under our Canterbury domain and security standards while allowing students to store and access work from any computer at any time through the “cloud.”
Finally, as I mentioned in the April Reconfiguration Report, we will be rolling out a Student and Parent Portal called NetCommunity that will allow an individualized look at your child’s school experience including announcements, grades, class schedules, assignments, and extracurricular activities and schedules. In tandem with our grading policy, this should provide very clear insight into your child’s progress in as close to real time as is possible. We know you will be excited to have this kind of access. You will be receiving more details on this new service very soon.
Trips
One of the hallmarks of the middle school experience is the trips we offer to our students throughout their time with us. Trips are a wonderful way to address the whole child through experiential learning opportunities. This year we will be discussing the nature of our trips and how to best maximize our resources to provide the finest educational experience. This will mean that trips will take on a different look in the 2013-2014 school year. I will be soliciting your feedback as the conversation begins and also keep you up to date with the conversation’s progress.
2011-2012 Year in Review
High School Placement
You will remember that we began a more formalized high school placement program in 2011-2012. The purpose of this program was to provide a one-on-one family approach to finding the right high school for each student at the school. We are uniquely positioned to offer this service because of two factors. First, as a small PreK-8 school, we know our students and families very well, allowing for a caring and informed perspective on all of the high school options out there. Second, as an academically challenging PreK-8 school, we have developed and continue to build strong relationships with prestigious public, magnet, independent, and boarding schools seeking students who reflect our Middle School Vision. We will continue this program next year under the direction of Kathy Durham, Director of Student Life and Unity in Diversity.
This year we are proud to report that the Class of 2012 matriculated to twelve different high schools including Page, Grimsley, Northwest Guilford, Northern Guilford, The Elon School, Weaver Academy, Greensboro Day School, St. Mary’s, McCallie, Deerfield, Christ School, and Baylor. Additionally, almost all of our graduates who will be attending Page or Grimsley selected the International Baccalaureate track. We are very proud of our newest alumni and wish them all the best as they approach new challenges in high school.
One last point as we move forward: for the eighth year in a row a Canterbury graduate was selected as a local public school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.
8th Grade Portfolio Program
Last year was the first year for the Canterbury Portfolio Program. The core purpose of the program is to incorporate the necessary skills for success in the 21st Century and is in line with our mission of educating the whole child. More directly, it provides a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
Eighth graders spent the year developing a portfolio of digital products which proved they had acquired the ten skills of a Canterbury graduate. The skills are:
- Solve a real-world problem using concepts from math and/or science.
- Demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language.
- Clearly and concisely outline a position on a topic and be able to explain and compellingly persuade others of its implications through writing.
- Demonstrate a commitment to care for self and others the world over.
- Participate in and demonstrate your role as a member of a team.
- Demonstrate knowledge of your faith as it has developed in your life.
- Develop a fundamental understanding of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas regarding new media and technologies.
- Explore an understanding of either justice, integrity, mercy, or compassion through the arts or literature.
- Exercise leadership.
- Respond to an experience of failure in a way that acknowledges innovation, involves small successes, and frequent mistakes.
Projects varied widely from papers and paintings to PowerPoints and Prezis; from podcasts and iMovies (including videos of work with the Special Olympics and NCAIS Honor Band) to virtual models of lunar bases. Students presented their portfolio to a panel of administrators, answered questions about their work and experiences, and received immediate feedback over a two week period in May.
Overall, the program was a success. It provided the 8th graders with a venue to reflect on their learning, a real-world experience in project and time management, and a serious and meaningful opportunity to analyze and concisely deliver remarks about the work they completed over their middle school career at Canterbury. These are essential skills for citizens of our world and the 8th grade class did a fantastic job of putting those skills to work this year.
Based on feedback from students, parents, teachers, and mentors, we have implemented changes to the program which should make for an even better Portfolio experience in 2012-2013. Some of those changes include:
- Students will now meet in Portfolio class once a week instead of every ten days.
- Thanks to the Class of 2012, students will have exemplars of each skill.
- Students will have the opportunity to have up to two skills pre-graded.
- The mentor training program has been enhanced through a Portfolio handbook.
- The platform for the Portfolio will move from a blog to a Google site.
- The presentations will last one week, instead of two, and grades will be delivered after all students have presented.
We believe this program is crucial to our mission to educate the whole child and fulfills its purpose to provide a context for students to see that education is a continual, integrated, and relevant process.
iPad Pilot Program
In November 2011, I wrote to outline the goals of our iPad Pilot Program. In summary, we wanted to measure the effectiveness of the iPad in a one-to-one setting. We used as our guideposts the following questions:
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of organization?
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of classroom note taking?
- How effective can the iPad be as an e-reader?
- How effective can the iPad be in terms of student/teacher communication and collaboration?
Over the course of the iPad Pilot Program, we found that it was effective if used to its capacity. In terms of organization, note-taking, and teacher collaboration, its use demonstrated the value fairly quickly. Unfortunately, we were only able to get e-texts for our literature class and while iBooks was exceptionally effective in terms of classroom use, home reading comprehension, and note organization, it was of limited scope because the rest of the classes still depended on hard copy versions of their text resources. Furthermore, the e-versions of texts or curriculum-based resources are not cost effective nor have they been developed to the point where it makes sense to put everything a student needs on the iPad.
So, at this time, we cannot confirm that giving an iPad to every 7th and 8th grade student would be beneficial. Each student would still require other textbooks and/or information. In the words of one of our 7th graders, “it isn’t worth it if it is just going to be another book I bring to school.” So for now, we will not be implementing a one-to-one model with iPads in the 7th and 8th grades.
We do feel that the software development is moving rapidly enough that we might be able to implement their use in the near future. Apple’s recent announcement of their partnership with three major textbook publishers, as well as their creation of e-reader development software, means we will see high quality resources at a reasonable price point to consider moving to a one-to-one model in the future. When that times does come, we will have the research and training in place to be able to move - if we choose - into that model quickly.
I am excited about how these three programs developed over the 2011-2012 school year and for what 2012-2013 holds in store. We continue to work to make them as effective as possible in developing the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community guided by Judeo-Christian values.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
David Skeen
Middle School Director
Canterbury School
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Leadership Article: Do You Have Moral Overconfidence
I found this post at LeadingBlog about the need for humility in our leaders. In fact, they are teaching it at Harvard Business School. Canterbury's motto fits perfectly with this idea. To Learn, To Love, To Serve: To Live.
Check it out: Do You Have Moral Overconfidence
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Creative Politics
I found this post from Daniel Pink's website and thought it was really funny:
And Cody Toone, who teaches at Cardston Elementary School in Alberta, sends this campaign poster from a grade six student election. I’m not sure the sign quite fits the definition of emotionally intelligent signage, but I am sure that Shelby has a future in politics:
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Portfolio Skill 10: How Steve Jobs Lived It Out
Portfolio Skill 10: Respond to an experience of failure in a way that acknowledges that innovation involves small successes and frequent mistakes.
As we all know, Steve Jobs passed away last week and since then writers from every perspective have been writing eulogies of some sort. As I waded through these testaments, I heard very little from Jobs himself until I stumbled upon a reference to his commencement address at Stanford University in 2005. In it he discusses how failure provided the foundation for his success. Most spectacularly, Jobs was fired from the company he created. This may be bigger than the mistakes implied by Skill 10 but nevertheless provides an example of the spirit it takes to innovate.
I found the address both incredibly fitting as it relates to our last skill and haunting in the way he speaks of his future. I'll leave it to you to read the speech, but will say that he is true to himself in that he uses story to resonate with his audience. We all know how compelling Jobs was and as a result how impactful his ideas have been on how we live our lives.
If there was ever an example of Skill 10, Steve Jobs would be it.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
One Final Legacy
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| http://www.homeroomteacher.com/ |
I remember one year when I was teaching 4th grade, I had a student who left eight coats in his locker over the year, and didn't realize it until the end of the year. He wasn't sure how he would carry all of them home, as they were too puffy for a trash bag. So together, we came up with the solution. He put one coat on, then another, then another....until he walked out to carpool looking like the Goodyear Man.
This morning, I walked into the building and heard that despite our best efforts this spring, something had made it through to the summer cleaning. Apparently, an inventive 8th grader chose to leave a final marker of their time here at Canterbury. This student found a way to affix a magnet to a donut and then place it underneath the top shelf of the locker. I'm not sure if they hoped it would fossilize over time so they could come back during their ten year reunion and claim it (an odd time capsule, I'd say) or if they merely placed it there during the year in order to keep it safe from notorious middle school moochers and forgot about it.
Regardless, it is one of the most creative and interesting remnants of a locker I've ever encountered. Intentional or not, I tip my hat to this student for laying claim to that title. What's the most interesting/disgusting/funny thing you've ever seen/heard of being left in a locker?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Brain: A Beautiful Thing
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| Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain From Antiquity to the 21st Centruy |
I'm on a brain kick this morning, but this link goes to an incredible slideshow of brain images captured in the book, "Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain From Antiquity to the 21st Century," by Carl Schoonover. One of the things I love to collect are old maps and sketches from the18th and 19th century. Seeing some of the early renderings of the brain is fascinating, especially compared to the intricate and colorful images that MRI and electron highlighting can afford us today.
 |
| http://www.independent.co.uk/ |
Brain Books: Summer Reading
The Dana Alliance published a post on summer reading for those of us interested in brain research. It has a nice mix of science and anecdote, mostly written for us laypeople. There is one book which focuses on ALS, which is particularly important to our community.
Check it out here.
Check it out here.
Dan Pink: Emotionally Intelligent Sign for Parents
Check out this sign for parents at a Little League game. Makes sense, I'd say:
Dan Pink Blog: Little League
Friday, June 3, 2011
Graduation Speech: A Canterbury Tradition
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| Mrs. Wall & Handbell Choir, December 2010 |
You can check out the full transcript of the speech on the Canterbury Website or by clicking the link below:
Amanda Wall's Commencement Address
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
8th Grade Trips: A Letter From Crystal River, FL
This week our 8th graders went on their February Trips. John Schoultz (7th/8th Grade Science), Stephanie Keaney (1st-4th Grade Science), and Mary Winstead (Advancement Officer and Alumni Development) are with the second group of 8th graders finishing up their SCUBA certification and diving with the manatees in Crystal River, Florida.
Dear Canterbury,
This trip has been GREAT. The first day in Savannah the weather was beautiful and the dolphin experience was great. We saw many dolphins, we played on the beach and the girls saw Paula Dean's house. That was especially thrilling for Caroline Y. and Christian H.
We then headed to Crystal River, FL. We were breathing air underwater the very first evening. The SCUBA classes have been long, hard, and cold, but our kids have really worked very hard. Everyone passed the written tests and all the pool dives. We are working on the last two dives to become fully certified this afternoon.
This course has felt like school. Students have had serious math calculations (determining pressure groups is a complex math calculation), science work (understanding pressure and density as it relates to air consumption), health (how nitrogen works, how hypoxia works), and they have had to learn teamwork since their lives depend on it.
We've had some amazing stories of success including one student who had significant worries and fears on the first day and took 30 minutes just to learn to breath with the regulator. Now she is dropping into the water like a champ. It has been amazing to watch.
We saw our first manatee in the wild yesterday (It was a mother and her calf swimming by the boat - it was great!), but will have much more contact this morning.
The biggest challenge so far has been the cold water and since our kids have no body fat, they get cold quickly. But I am so proud of their persistence and dedication.
We head to Atlanta tomorrow.
John
 |
| scubadiving.com |
This trip has been GREAT. The first day in Savannah the weather was beautiful and the dolphin experience was great. We saw many dolphins, we played on the beach and the girls saw Paula Dean's house. That was especially thrilling for Caroline Y. and Christian H.
We then headed to Crystal River, FL. We were breathing air underwater the very first evening. The SCUBA classes have been long, hard, and cold, but our kids have really worked very hard. Everyone passed the written tests and all the pool dives. We are working on the last two dives to become fully certified this afternoon.
This course has felt like school. Students have had serious math calculations (determining pressure groups is a complex math calculation), science work (understanding pressure and density as it relates to air consumption), health (how nitrogen works, how hypoxia works), and they have had to learn teamwork since their lives depend on it.
We've had some amazing stories of success including one student who had significant worries and fears on the first day and took 30 minutes just to learn to breath with the regulator. Now she is dropping into the water like a champ. It has been amazing to watch.
We saw our first manatee in the wild yesterday (It was a mother and her calf swimming by the boat - it was great!), but will have much more contact this morning.
The biggest challenge so far has been the cold water and since our kids have no body fat, they get cold quickly. But I am so proud of their persistence and dedication.
We head to Atlanta tomorrow.
John
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
8th Grade Trips: A Letter from New Orleans
Our 8th grade is on their February trip this week. Below is a letter to our parents from Tricia Fisher, our Venture Out Director and Wes Vogel, our Social Studies teacher, from New Orleans, where six of our 8th grade boys are helping to clean up neighborhoods still devastated from Katrina.
Hi Everyone,
We haven't had any down time or internet access until this evening. We have had such a whirlwind time from the moment we arrived. Our first night at the Embassy Suites was great- The hotel could not have been nicer- good staff, nice rooms. They loved our well-mannered children. We ate at a little Italian restaurant where we had alligator sausage. We walked the French Quarter yesterday, visited the Aquarium (I-MAX had a Hurricane movie) and the Katrina exhibit in the Cabildo. It was a very good way to help the students understand the impact of Katrina and the way of life down here. We ate shrimp po-boys at Johnny's which were fantastic!
The church house where we are staying is perfect for our group. There is a pool table, basketball goal, space for everyone to chill, and an old nintendo- no TV and they have been fine. We had quite a first day with our service group. I think it was an eye opener for all of us and a reminder how blessed we are. The pastor of the Center gave a special welcome with two stories that set the tone for our trip. God calls us to step out and not step into ourselves and help others- Your children were just special souls today- they worked so hard and in very dirty circumstances. You would not believe how bad this garage was that we pulled out- water was still in it along with a thousand tools, dental stuff, a rusty car and who knows what else. The gentleman was a dental technician who had a stroke- he was there today as well- We also went to another house and cut down (attacked) banana trees. Just perfect for the boys: hacking down branches, chopping logs, really loving that part of the day.
We feasted tonight on andouille po-boys, boiled shrimp, salad and laughs. We cooked for ourselves- better and cheaper than most restaurants. We had lots of sous chefs helping us. There have been no picky eaters on this trip.
Tomorrow we will take down a fence and beyond that I'm not sure what the next job will be. We will definitely wear sunscreen tomorrow. You should see Wes- he looks like a crawfish!
Wes and I are really enjoying the boys- lots of jokes and humor- Nothing like traveling with my daughters!! Please know that you should be proud of the way in which your sons are working and interacting with others.
Hope you enjoy these pictures. I'll send more when we can.
Tricia and Wes
We haven't had any down time or internet access until this evening. We have had such a whirlwind time from the moment we arrived. Our first night at the Embassy Suites was great- The hotel could not have been nicer- good staff, nice rooms. They loved our well-mannered children. We ate at a little Italian restaurant where we had alligator sausage. We walked the French Quarter yesterday, visited the Aquarium (I-MAX had a Hurricane movie) and the Katrina exhibit in the Cabildo. It was a very good way to help the students understand the impact of Katrina and the way of life down here. We ate shrimp po-boys at Johnny's which were fantastic!
The church house where we are staying is perfect for our group. There is a pool table, basketball goal, space for everyone to chill, and an old nintendo- no TV and they have been fine. We had quite a first day with our service group. I think it was an eye opener for all of us and a reminder how blessed we are. The pastor of the Center gave a special welcome with two stories that set the tone for our trip. God calls us to step out and not step into ourselves and help others- Your children were just special souls today- they worked so hard and in very dirty circumstances. You would not believe how bad this garage was that we pulled out- water was still in it along with a thousand tools, dental stuff, a rusty car and who knows what else. The gentleman was a dental technician who had a stroke- he was there today as well- We also went to another house and cut down (attacked) banana trees. Just perfect for the boys: hacking down branches, chopping logs, really loving that part of the day.
We feasted tonight on andouille po-boys, boiled shrimp, salad and laughs. We cooked for ourselves- better and cheaper than most restaurants. We had lots of sous chefs helping us. There have been no picky eaters on this trip.
Tomorrow we will take down a fence and beyond that I'm not sure what the next job will be. We will definitely wear sunscreen tomorrow. You should see Wes- he looks like a crawfish!
Wes and I are really enjoying the boys- lots of jokes and humor- Nothing like traveling with my daughters!! Please know that you should be proud of the way in which your sons are working and interacting with others.
Hope you enjoy these pictures. I'll send more when we can.
Tricia and Wes
Friday, February 18, 2011
Use a Bad Idea for Good
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| Scott Adams, Inc. |
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Edison on Coaching
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
Thomas Edison
Each day for lacrosse practice I produce a practice plan and have a quote at the bottom. The overt objective is that if the boys can repeat the quote, I'll take some running off at the end of practice. The covert objective is that through the quotes I can get the boys to think about what we need to do, where we stand as a team, and what it will take to get there.
Ol' Tom would've made a great coach. I really like his quote above because he puts it plainly what it takes to succeed. First: work. But not just work for work's sake - purposeful work. We hear it over and over again about how the most successful of us put the most work in.
For coaches, his second sentence lays out the responsibilities of a coach and the responsibilities of the players when pursuing a goal ("a product or accomplishment")
Coaches' Responsibilities
1. Forethought
2. System
3. Planning
Coaches' and Players' Responsibility
1. Intelligence - be ready to think and adapt to the game and personnel
Players' Responsibilities
1. Honest purpose
2. Perspiration
My job as coach, as leader, is to set a goal, make a plan, and be smart enough to adapt to factors as they arise. The players' need to be committed to the team, be prepared to work hard (to sweat a lot), and adapt to the game as it unfolds.
Finally, we can have the kids run around, work hard, but if it is only to get excercise that is not enough. That is seeming to do. Athletics should encompass so much more and it does, when done right. It is like the lab of life:
How will you react to failure? To success?
What if you're not the fastest, strongest, or most skilled athlete on the field? What does that mean for you as a team member? How will you find your niche?
What if you are the biggest, fastest, strongest athlete on the field? How will you own that role?
What do you have to do to support your teammates in order for the team to win? Do you want the team to win or do you want to be recognized? How does that make your teammates feel?
Coaching a team may be the best example of solid pedagogical teaching strategies at work. But in this classroom, the content is character development. The buzz phrase of education currently is "21st century skills." Some of those skills, depending on who you are reading, include collaboration, analysis, synthesis, respect and relationships, creativity, symphony, and on and on. What we see is that team sports has been teaching these skills long before we were ever confronted with the 21st century. Edison knew what it would take to prepare a group to use the skills we now champion so loudly. Who knows, Ol' Lightbulb Tom could have been speaking to his soccer team!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Update to 6th Grade History Assignment
Hello Again,
I've received some emails for clarification on the Internet Assignment from Monday. Here it goes:
1. Textiles are clothes, rugs or any other product made from wool, cotton, etc. Think about the colorful, geometric rugs you see in the rooms below the library. Oriental Rugs are a great example. In the video on YouTube there is a description of how textiles were important to the economy of the Islamic Empire. The cue for the section is 35 minutes in. This will help to introduce you to the topic. Take the time to just watch at first and then rewind and re-watch as needed.
2. Your assignment is to draw and color some textile product that could be found in the Muslim World of 1100 - 1200 AD. You will draw this on a 8.5" x 11" (regular printer paper) with pencil and colored pencil or crayons or markers. If you have construction paper you should glue the picture to that.
3. Once you have completed that you will create a brief decription of your textile product. Remember when you are in a museum and you read the brief description of the piece of art? That is what you are writing. The PBS site has a list of exactly what you will need to include on your description. When it says materials used, it wants you to describe what that textile product would have if it were real. The description is not true, but it makes sense in the context of the time period and is historically accurate. For example, don't use walrus leather as a material because that would not be found in the Muslim Empire of 1100-1200....
For example, "Made from lamb's wool, ca. 1135, Syria. The design is meant to draw the eye to the center of the rug where the ritual would take place. This rug was used by the caliph Abda al Symon in ceremonies of surrender after battles."
4. On the PBS site, use the Video Note Guide to get the information you will need for the Museum Description portion of the assignment. You will use this guide while watching the video.
5. On the PBS site, peruse the websites they reccommend to learn more about textiles in the Muslim world. This will help you get ideas of what to draw and what to include on your museum description.
6. Use the Project Scoring Rubric on the PBS site to determine if you have done enough to complete the assignment.
I've received some emails for clarification on the Internet Assignment from Monday. Here it goes:
1. Textiles are clothes, rugs or any other product made from wool, cotton, etc. Think about the colorful, geometric rugs you see in the rooms below the library. Oriental Rugs are a great example. In the video on YouTube there is a description of how textiles were important to the economy of the Islamic Empire. The cue for the section is 35 minutes in. This will help to introduce you to the topic. Take the time to just watch at first and then rewind and re-watch as needed.
2. Your assignment is to draw and color some textile product that could be found in the Muslim World of 1100 - 1200 AD. You will draw this on a 8.5" x 11" (regular printer paper) with pencil and colored pencil or crayons or markers. If you have construction paper you should glue the picture to that.
3. Once you have completed that you will create a brief decription of your textile product. Remember when you are in a museum and you read the brief description of the piece of art? That is what you are writing. The PBS site has a list of exactly what you will need to include on your description. When it says materials used, it wants you to describe what that textile product would have if it were real. The description is not true, but it makes sense in the context of the time period and is historically accurate. For example, don't use walrus leather as a material because that would not be found in the Muslim Empire of 1100-1200....
For example, "Made from lamb's wool, ca. 1135, Syria. The design is meant to draw the eye to the center of the rug where the ritual would take place. This rug was used by the caliph Abda al Symon in ceremonies of surrender after battles."
4. On the PBS site, use the Video Note Guide to get the information you will need for the Museum Description portion of the assignment. You will use this guide while watching the video.
5. On the PBS site, peruse the websites they reccommend to learn more about textiles in the Muslim world. This will help you get ideas of what to draw and what to include on your museum description.
6. Use the Project Scoring Rubric on the PBS site to determine if you have done enough to complete the assignment.
Message to My 5th Grade Math Class
Hey Guys,
I hope you are enjoying Round 2 of this winter storm. I remember when I was a freshmen in high school we had a similar blizzard and we were out of school for a week....and they had to cancel exams!
Well, you guys may be out for a week, but they aren't cancelling exams. Sorry. Also, we have all this great technology so I can get in touch with you to send an assignment home. I've got to keep your math minds sharp. Isn't that great! (They didn't have all this when I was freshman in high school.)
Here is you Blizzard Assignment:
1. Go to Mr. Little Math Blog on the Calvert Homepage or click on the link: http://calvertschoolweb.org/wlittle/5th%20Grade%20Textbook/Chapter%204.pdf
2. On the right hand column select Math Textbook and Resources
3. Select 5th grade math
4. Under the Textbook column, select Chapter 4
5. When the textbook chapter has loaded, scroll down to p. 93 and complete the Mid Chapter Review ALL on a separate sheet of paper. Please put your name and the date on it.
6. After this, scroll down to p. 114-115 and complete Chapter 4 Review #1-36 ODDS on a separate piece of paper. Please put your name and the date on it.
Good luck and email me with any questions you may have. These are due when we return to school tomorrow or Friday.
I hope you are enjoying Round 2 of this winter storm. I remember when I was a freshmen in high school we had a similar blizzard and we were out of school for a week....and they had to cancel exams!
Well, you guys may be out for a week, but they aren't cancelling exams. Sorry. Also, we have all this great technology so I can get in touch with you to send an assignment home. I've got to keep your math minds sharp. Isn't that great! (They didn't have all this when I was freshman in high school.)
Here is you Blizzard Assignment:
1. Go to Mr. Little Math Blog on the Calvert Homepage or click on the link: http://calvertschoolweb.org/wlittle/5th%20Grade%20Textbook/Chapter%204.pdf
2. On the right hand column select Math Textbook and Resources
3. Select 5th grade math
4. Under the Textbook column, select Chapter 4
5. When the textbook chapter has loaded, scroll down to p. 93 and complete the Mid Chapter Review ALL on a separate sheet of paper. Please put your name and the date on it.
6. After this, scroll down to p. 114-115 and complete Chapter 4 Review #1-36 ODDS on a separate piece of paper. Please put your name and the date on it.
Good luck and email me with any questions you may have. These are due when we return to school tomorrow or Friday.
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