100th Day!

Today was the 100th day of school.  Usually, this would be a day of all types of projects.  However, our day was cut short because of a two-hour delay (teacher inservice). 

Even with the delayed start, we were able to begin our writing project on what our lives will be like when we are 100 years old.  I told the students to think of where they would be living, what their families would be like, how technology might change, and what their careers would be/have been.  So far, I have several doctors, actresses, an inventor, a few scientists, a train engineer, a rapper, a dancer, a famous artist, and an old man who tells kids to get off his lawn.  (No kidding on that one!)  Technology has changed to include floating houses, flying cars, jet-powered wheelchairs, solar-powered everything, talking computers, updates to the iPhone (iPhone 50G), and teleportation devices.  All of the students have finished their organizers and rough drafts.  Tomorrow they will write their final drafts and draw their pictures.  (I cannot wait to see what they will look like!  I'll post pics when they are finished.)   

We did the math activities I posted about yesterday, except for the puzzles.  The students enjoyed them, though, especially since they had no math homework today!

On a different note, our inservice was somewhat unproductive.  My district is adopting a new reading series next year called "Journeys."  (If you use it in your school, please let me know your thoughts on it.)  The purpose of the inservice was to allow us to look at the materials and ask questions via a district-wide webinar--our first attempt at this.  The technology aspect of the webinar wasn't the issue.  The issue was the fact that the responses to the questions we submitted throughout the session were all scripted from the company.   I mean, you could actually hear the presenters flipping through the pages to find the answers!  I dare say that nearly half the questions that were asked about how to implement the series with current district (and now changing state) expectations weren't answered.  We kept getting told that we "would get more information when it becomes available" or "That question will be answered in the summer training."  Huh?!?  My school is an LFS school.  We also do RTII in all grades and Project Read in K-1.  We are getting a new multi-million dollar series and no one knows how we are going to implement it?  And where did we get the money to buy the series anyway?  We're supposed to be cutting back our spending and watching the budget. I mean really. We lost staff, had positions cut to half time, weren't able to order the proper materials for curriculum needs, and cut programs.  But somehow we have millions for a reading series we don't really need.

{Sigh.} Only 80 days to go.