(Day 1 of Scholastic Trip #2)

The first day of Scholastic meetings started off with us meeting Carol in the lobby of the hotel, getting our clearance badges for the next few days, and a walk from the hotel to the Scholastic headquarters. (The walk took about 10 minutes.  You would be amazed at how relatively quiet Soho is at 8:30 a.m.)

We arrived at the building and were taken upstairs to have breakfast and meet with another Carol; this Carol is the VP of the eCommerce department.  She and her assistant Sean walked us through the new website design and further picked our brains for improvements to the book club ordering sites for teachers and parents. 

Some of the new changes coming this fall are: a searchable index of all book being offered by the Scholastic clubs, in Club Shop, or teacher materials.  (This is one of my favorite new features!)  You will now be able to search for titles by author, subject, grade level, genre, skill set, or title.  I believe they will be adding a feature that will allow teachers and parents to keep a snapshot of students that will allow recommendations to be made based on the child's grade level, age, and/or reading level.  (They were still working on the details for that one.)

Another feature coming this fall (and is already in place in some areas of the country through test markets) is the e-reader feature.  Scholastic will be offering e-books for sale through the website to be downloaded to the Scholastic e-reader software, which is free.  The software can be downloaded onto a computer, tablet, or smartphone; I think you can download up to five per household.  Anyhow, once books are purchased, they go to the device of your choice.  Each child has his or her own "bookshelf" where they can store their digital books.  The program itself reminds me of a LeapPad combined with an e-book.  The students have the ability to look up words, take notes, highlight, play games, and do comprehension activities throughout the books.  (This was the one I tested out this past spring; I couldn't tell you the details until it went live.) I can't wait to start adding books for my kiddos.

After the discussions about the above, we stopped for lunch around 12:30.  We went to Miro Cafe for lunch and had a few minutes to walk around before we went back.  The afternoon was filled with the actual preview of the websites.  My take: much easier navigation, especially if you have coupons to enter with your order.  The whole ordering process has been streamlined for ease.  There will also be a change to the form letter available on the site for parent online ordering. 

We also talked about how to get parents interested in book clubs and online ordering.  Some of the things the other teachers use are: a Smartboard presentation showing parents how to get on the site during parent nights (if you have a Smartboard.  I don't.), an "All About Me" letter indicating student reading preferences, adding a link to your class web page, and providing the "How Book Clubs Work" link to parents. 

At 5:30 we ended the day with a little shopping at the Scholastic store.  I bought my kiddos some new books: Fairest for my oldest and a Ricky Ricotta book and activity book for my youngest.  Here are some new pictures from this trip:


The entrance to the lobby.



With the last installment of the movie series coming out, I thought it only fitting to take this.



Just thought this was really cute.

 At 6 we went to dinner at Bar 89. 



Dinner was delicious, but I'm not going to talk about that.  The thing to talk about once you've been to Bar 89 is the BATHROOMS!  Yes, the bathrooms.  There is only one word to describe them: Freaky.  Let me show you what I mean.

This is my pic from inside the stall.  I am standing in the corner. 



Totally fogged.  I can see out, but no one can see in!



When you go into the stall, the door is all glass.  Once you shut the door, the stall glass fogs up so no one can see you and a lighted "Occupied" sign appears on the door.  When you are finished, you open the door and the fog clears.  A shock at first. 

Once dinner was over, we went back to the hotel to prepare for Day 2.

Stay tuned.



(Day 181: Last Teacher Day and Scholastic Trip #2 Travel Day)

This is my room at the beginning of the school year before the children came in on the first day:

Notice how shiny everything is and how bare bones the room was?  Throughout the year I've added games and projects and papers and all the other things you accumulate over the course of the year.  (Where does it all come from anyway?)
 
This is the room on the last teacher day of the year, looking sort of the same, but not really.

All of my stuff has been cleaned, sorted, thrown out, or filed away for use next year.  Any furniture that does not belong to the school had to be moved into the coat area so the floors are clear for the cleaning crew. (The crew will move all the deks and tables.)  The counters all needed to be cleared, too, so the coat area is filled with my mailboxes, centers organizers, my desk chair, fans, file bins, book bins, etc.  My posters get to stay because they aren't doing anything with the walls this year.  The other picture I took didn't come out clearly, but there is nothing on the counters by the windows.  My desk is (gasp!) totally clear, too.

After cleaning, sorting, filing, and moving, I left about half an hour early so I could dash home and get a shower before hopping on the train to travel to New York for a special (read: not a usual occurrence) set of meetings with Scholastic.  The company asked any advisors who were able to make it to come back and see the updates and changes before the print deadlines for the fall.  (These would be the updates and changes we talked about during our February meetings.  Read Day 111, Part 1 and Part 2, and the Saturday Meetings links.) I made it to the station with about half an hour to spare before departure.

I made it to Penn Station (which is in the same building as Madison Square Garden) around 9 p.m., took a nerve-wracking taxi ride to the Tribeca Grand Hotel, checked in, took another shower (even riding in the train felt gross), and prepared for a day of meetings. FYI: I slept much better this time; no construction going on outside my window!

More to come on the meetings; you are going to be so happy this fall!

Day 180: Last Day of School

Friday, June 10 was...

The.

Last.

Day.

Of.

School.

The last day was actually a half day for the students.  The first portion of the day was a slide show presented by the PTA.  Every year the PTA gathers together pictures from the first day of school until about the last two weeks of school.  The show is set to music and covers everything from holiday celebrations, PTA assemblies, functions like Read Across American Week, the May Fair, classroom speakers, classroom projects and lessons, time on the playground, field day, lunch, time in specials, etc.  The show is about an hour long.  The children really enjoy the show because they see themselves or friends, and there's a lot of "Oh, I remember that!"  It's really pretty cool.

After the slide show we had snack and finished off our last chapter book of the year.  Then we went out for recess.  Once recess was over I passed out the report cards/summer newsletter/summer practice work packet  and read a short story.  By then, the dismissals had begun.  As the children went out, they hugged me and wished me a good summer.  I told them to send me postcards from wherever they traveled or to stop by at the beginning of the school year to tell me about their summers.

Once the students have gone, the teachers had a potluck lunch. (We do this every year.)  After lunch, we worked in our rooms and/or on cumulative folders.  Whatever didn't get finished was pushed to Monday, our last teacher day in the building.  (I finished my folders, but my room still needed work!)

Day 179: End-of-the-Year Party!

Day 179 was our End-of-the-Year Party.  If your school is like mine, the "party" is somewhat of a wrap-up to everything.

The day started with my kiddos taking a survey.  Every year I give the students an evaluation to fill out.  The first past is about them: what they've accomplished/goals they've met, new friends they made, etc. The second part is about the class/classroom: what lessons they liked best, what lessons weren't their favorites, and suggestions for improvement. (I always have to clarify on this one because I can't change things like the school-wide discipline policy, recess times, etc.  There are always a few kiddos who want to adjust those!)  The final segment is about me:  Did I treat them fairly?  Did they feel safe?  What was the best/worst advice I gave them? I tell the students to be honest; they are not going to hurt my feelings by their responses.  I take the surveys and read them over so I can gauge my teaching for next year.  I have actually taken some suggestions from students in previous years and changed things from time to time.  I've been thinking of doing a smaller version of the survey at the end of each quarter or semester as well.  We'll see what happens.

After that, we cleaned out the last few items from their desks (crayons, pencils, and final "fun" sheets) and cleaned up the room a bit.  By that time, it was time for recess and independent reading time, which led us into lunch.

Lunch was held in the classroom.  We had pizza, chips, and juice.  Some of the children also brought an extra snack or two, so they also had those.  During lunch, the students watched a slide show of the year, courtesy of one of our parents who took pictures of a lot of our class activities. 

After the slide show, the class had a surprise for me so I was asked to step out of the room for a few minutes while they got ready.  When I was given the signal to come back in, I came in to see my students standing at their desks with roses in their hands.  Each student then came up to me, gave me hug, presented me with a rose, and told me thank you or some other appreciative statement.  After that, each of the parents came up and presented me with a rose and said something nice about me and/or the year.  The whole thing was very sweet and slightly overwhelming.  I was a little teary by the end.  Here is a picture of the final bouquet:

There are more than two dozen roses in here. Every time I think about it, I get a little teary eyed.  It really was a thoughtful gesture.

 
After the hugs and tears and more hugs, I took the students to special.  During that time, the room was cleaned up and the desks were wiped down.  The room parents prepared the afternoon activities to be ready to go when the students were out of special.

Once the children were picked up, we prepared to go outside for about an hour (not much longer, as there was a heat advisory that day.  Even with that, it was cooler outside because of the breeze than it was in the building.).  We went down to one of the fields and played water games: Duck, duck, goose (where you threw a water balloon at the person's back instead of tapping them on the head), balloon toss, water tag, and the student favorite, free for all.  When everyone was sufficiently drenched, they stretched out on their beach towels and had juice and Popsicles.  After that we took a group picture and prepared to go in for a craft activity.

Back inside, the students painted picture frames to be filled with a copy of a class picture (courtesy of the same parents who provided the slide show).  The students finished their  paintings and went outside as they finished.  After recess we read under the fans and waited for dismissal.

A long, hot, fun-filled day.    

Day 178: Talent Show!

I told you all a little while back that the second grade was going to put on a talent show as a tie-in to our last language arts theme of the year, which was named, "Talent Show."  We scheduled it during the last week of school for a few reasons: the grade level would be finished with the theme, the students would have sufficient time to practice, and we wouldn't get in trouble for taking away from "instructional time." (Our principal frowns on anything that takes away from classroom instruction; if we schedule a speaker or something, it must have a direct connection to the curriculum.  Not that we would just waste time, but it's better to be on the safe side.)  Moving on...

Permission slips were sent home during the second week of May; those who wished to participate had to send their forms back two weeks before the show date to give me time to double-check song lyrics (ALWAYS do this!), arrange performances, reserve the space, and make arrangements with the custodian for mikes, lights, etc.  Even with the deadlines, there were some changes as late as the day before (lost slips so notes were sent in, people dropping out or changing what they were doing, etc.  It was a little crazy for a minute there, but we got it all together.).

Talent show morning began as a scorcher.  The show was scheduled to begin at 9:30 and last until 10:45-11:00.  It was a humid 84 degrees at 8:45 when the children came in.  Let's just say that once all six classes, teachers, and various family members were in the cafeteria/multipurpose room at showtime, the place was toasty, even with the doors open!

Any students who were performing came up the to cafeteria first so we could arrange them in the order they were going to be on stage.  (Their classes came up later.)  Then we could have one act on stage while another was getting ready and the third was "on deck."  This way we could keep the flow going with a minimum of interruption.  Once the children were finished, they came back and sat in their seat; we returned them back to their classes afterward.

We broke the show into three sections to allow for changes. (Some acts had mats or needed to have the area cleared, props put up, etc.)  This also allowed our hosts (students from the classes) to have a break.  In all we had about 30 performances, so the hosts introduced about 10, as well as our "laugh breaks."  Laugh breaks are segments where two or three students tell jokes to the audience; our version of a commercial break.

Once we got started, things went along pretty smoothly.  We had one student forget her dance routine in the middle of the song, but she came back later and started over.  She rocked it!  We also had quite a few singers (with music and a capella, solo and in small groups), some dancers, a few gymnasts, a pogo stick act, hula hoops, piano recitals, baton twirling, a comedy skit, a guitar act, sports demonstrations, cup stacking, and several students who created artwork for display (portraits and sculptures). 

Overall, the show lasted just over an hour and a half, and we were able to get out of the cafeteria in time for kindergarten to get in and sing their farewell song for their parents.  (It was a little hairy there for a minute; I wasn't sure we were going to make it!)

The children enjoyed the show and were able to show off all of their talents.  I would say that if you plan to do this with your class or grade level, allow plenty of time for organizing and a few extra minutes in the show schedule to allow for little mishaps (because they will happen!).

In years past, we also provided refreshments after the show, but we didn't this year because it would have been cruel to keep the parents in that heat much longer!  But if the idea floats your boat and the weather (or air conditioning) works for you, then go for it!

Day 177: Letters to Incoming Second Graders

I wish I could say this idea was mine, but it isn't.  This idea was given to me by a former colleague, who used to do the project with her students.

So what is it?

I have my students write a letter to the next group of second graders.  I have my students write about what they learned this year, projects we did, field trips we had, etc.  They also get to tell their favorite lesson from the year (insects and mobiles were favorites) and give a bit of advice to the reader ("Don't lose your pencils!" and "Always listen."). 

After the students write their letters, I file them away for the first day of school.  When the first day comes, I place them on the desks in a random order and use them as an icebreaker/introduction as to what we will be doing over the course of the year.  In the case that I have more students than letters (which I think will happen this coming year with classes being cut and all), I will have the students share with a partner and keep the extras to read aloud. 

An alternative I have heard is to have the students write persuasion letters to their teachers at the end of the year.  My daughter did this as a project in fourth grade.  Her teacher had the class write to her and explain why they thought they deserved to go on to the next grade/why they would make good fifth graders.  They had to include things like study habits and attitude.  Very eye-opening, I'm sure.  She also had them write letters to the fifth grade teachers to introduce themselves.  I haven't tried either with my second graders, but judging by the enthusiasm in which they wrote their letters, I think they would enjoy the task.

Finally Here: Day 176: Haiku Hike

Monday, June 6, was Day 176.  To keep my students involved, we spent a portion of the day on a "haiku hike."  We read the story Haiku Hike, which is a student-published book from Scholastic.  I love the book because the students explain what a haiku is, use haikus to lead us through their hike in the woods, and give extra little facts about the things they write about. 

After reading the story and giving a few more examples of haikus, I took the children on a hike on the school grounds.  I told them to write any ideas they could think of while observing their surroundings.  I told them to focus on movement (i.e.,swaying), color, shape, feel, etc.  I was amazed at the number of things they were able to find: lilacs, blackberry bushes, spiders, robins, butterflies, forget-me-nots, poison ivy (on the other side of the playground fence near the fields), ants, cherry trees, daisies, and so many other things.

When the hike was over we came back to the room and I gave the children a few minutes to look over their notes and add to them.  Then I went over the expectations of the haiku, stressing the syllables in each line (some children like to count the words instead).  After that, the students began drafting their poems.  Through several drafts, syllable checks, format checks, and spelling checks, all of the students were able to publish a haiku with an illustration.  Below you will find a few examples:

If you can't read it, it says:
Daisy
Soft as a blanket.
White, yellow, green. Colorful. 
Swaying in the breeze.

This one says:
Hostas
Soft green and white leaves.
The back of the leaf is rough.
They are small and wide.

The children really enjoyed the experience and were very proud of what they had done.  I was proud of their effort and creativity.  Try this one with your kiddos!

Computer Update

So...

(Notice the CAPITAL LETTERS? And punctuation other than a period? EXCITING!)

I made it back from New York late yesterday afternoon. Once I settled in and got some sleep, the first thing on my agenda for today was getting my computer to connect to the Internet.  A call to Comcast, a trip to the Geek Squad at Best Buy, and some fiddling with wires later, I am wired and ready to go again!  (Of course, after I clean out both my work and personal inboxes...ugh.)

Stay tuned.  There will be a lot coming your way.

Thanks for hanging on with me!

Awaiting Help

i am not in any distress. physically anyway. my computer is. which is why i am sending this update vvie my phone. this is sort of annoying because the keys are too small to do what i want and i cannot type in  caps or use any punctuation past a period. grr.

my computer was the victim of an early morning thunderstorm. i tried everything to get it to connect and called my provider to no avail. my modem is fine and the computer is fine but they are not talking to each other. so i have to take it someplace to have it checked. 

i have five days to catch you up on as well as another trip to scholastic...where i am heading via train right now.

hope to update you soon.

Day 175: Class Lists

It's that time again.  Time to sort out the students for the class lists.  This year we had to condense six second-grade classes into five third-grade classes.  As you know, this is not always as easy as it seems, and we had our own share of problems this time.

First, one of the third-grade teachers will be out on maternity leave until December.  We were asked to pay attention to the students because there are a few in second grade this year whose teachers have been on leave in much the same fashion for their kindergarten and first-grade years.  So this year has been sort of a catch-up year for them.

Add to that the fact that there are two classes that will have no less than six learning support students in them.  (We group them by class so the aides can be available to help instead of having them run back and forth between the rooms.  We follow a push-in model for special education, so the students are only pulled out of the regular education rooms if they are in a life skills class.  Even then, the students still visit the rooms for socialization purposes.)

Add to that the fact that there are a lot of immature students in the grade level this year.  Immaturity often leads to behavior issues.  It was an interesting process getting all of those students split up between the classes.  Even so, each room has about three students that still have some social growing to do.

Mixed in with all that, we have to make sure the students are grouped heterogenously by rank (low, low/medium, medium, medium/high, high, gifted).  Then we have to make sure the balance of girls and boys is as even as possible in each class.

Needless to say, it was an interesting meeting, but we managed to get it all sorted out.  All is well.

...As long as parents don't submit special requests to the office...

Day 174: Summer Reading!

Thursday, June 2 was Day 174.  Our school was visited by a librarian from the local public library to talk about the summer reading program.  The idea for this year is to explore your world and other cultures through books.  The children are supposed to read 10 hours to earn a free book.  Time past 10 hours qualifies them for additional prizes.  Several of my students already signed up for the program; I hope the rest do, too.

I have quite a few books on my summer reading list.  What about you?  What can't you wait to get your hands on this summer?  Leave a note in the comment box!

Day 173: Just Breathe...

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I have been buried (deep) in paperwork.  You know, the end-of-the-year madcap madness of cumulative folders, end-of-year assessments, preparing class lists for the next grade level, final report cards, summer newsletters, and last-week-of-school plans.  Add to that room packing, preparing for a grade-level talent show, and trying to keep the students sane and you have the last few days of my school year.  (I know some, if not all, of you are in the same boat I am.) 

Just...

Breathe.